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blue-aconite · 10 months

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let me drown || chapter III - bradley’s summer part III

Summary: People aren't always what they seem.

Warnings: Allusions to smut, jealousy, swearing, angst, cheating, drinking

Word Count: 6.3k

Pairings: Bradley Bradshaw x OC

Authors Note: It’s here. Enjoy. Minors DNI. Each chapter will be labelled with warnings individually.

Thank you to my amazing beta @writercole, this fic wouldn’t be what it is without you. I love you.

Virginia, Oceana Naval Air Station, Summer 2018

Bradley slammed on the brakes a bit harder than necessary, knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel too tight. Thea was quiet in the passenger seat, playing with the hem of her jean shorts as he sat in silence in the driveway.

Dinner had been tense, to say the least. Bradley’s mood had only gotten worse as Athena continued to pester them. At first she had taken an interest in Thea, asking her all sorts of questions. It was innocent enough but Bradley knew there was nothing innocent about his WSO. He had kept quiet though, hand resting on Thea’s knee as she answered Athena’s rapid questions.

Bob and Hangman had seemed oblivious to the tension at first, eager to catch up since they last saw each other. Bradley hated how well they seemed to get along. Like Hangman and Bob were actual friends. It felt wrong. Hangman wasn’t a friendly guy and Bob should know that. Especially if they spent months together on a carrier. He couldn’t exactly put his thumb on why it bothered him so much, but it did.

Hangman and Bob eventually ran out of things to talk about and turned their attention to Thea. To his dismay, his girlfriend and Hangman got along like two peas in a pod. Bradley hated it. He hated how Hangman made her laugh, trading life stories like they’ve known each other for more than an hour. And he hated the way Hangman looked at her. He shouldn’t be looking at her at all. Thea was taken. She was Bradley’s girlfriend and Hangman had the audacity to flirt with her when Bradley was sitting right next to them.

Bob hadn’t interfered, smiling and sharing anecdotes from his and Hangman’s time together. Bradley hated that too. Nobody had seemed to care that Bradley wasn’t really a part of the conversation. Nobody except Athena. She spared him the occasional glance, something vicious dancing across her features each time he caught her watching.

When Athena then veered into more intimate details of his and Thea’s relationship, Bradley slammed a fist on the table and told her to stay out of it. His outburst startled the occupants of the table, as well as several other patrons of the restaurant. He had excused himself to the bathroom for a chance to calm down. He hoped that Athena would keep her mouth shut while he was gone.

There had been a tentative knock on the door, Thea was hovering outside the door, worry etched onto her face. He stepped out of the bathroom, refusing to meet her eyes.

“Are you okay?” She asked as he closed the bathroom door behind him, not bothering to answer her as he tugged her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. “Bradley, please, what’s wrong?”

“Can we just go home?” He had asked instead of answering Thea’s questions. He wanted to go home, wrap Thea up in his arms and never let go. She sweetly told him to head for the car while she said goodbye, never the one to push.

The drive home had been quiet, Bradley’s anger still rushing through him. Thea shifted uncomfortably the entire way, opening and closing her mouth several times but never saying anything.

She exited the car and Bradley wondered for a split second if he should go back to base but Thea called out his name, stopping in the doorway. “Are you sleeping in the car tonight or what?”

He followed her into the bedroom and they got ready for bed in silence. At least she wanted him here. Thea was already in bed when he exited the bathroom, phone pressed to her ear.

“Yeah okay. Tell them sorry for cutting dinner short. ‘Kay, I will. I love you, goodnight.” The term of endearment threw him for a loop until he realised she was probably talking to Bob. He got under the covers, desperately wishing he could just pull her into his arms.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Thea kept her eyes trained on the ceiling, fingers fidgeting on top of the duvet. Bradley doesn’t know exactly what’s going on so he settled for the one thing he did know.

“I didn’t like the way he looked at you.” It’s childish and he knows it but it’s also true.

Thea frowned, turning onto her side to study his face. “What do you mean?” Bradley isn’t going to insult her by asking how she could have missed the obvious.

“Hangman. He looked at you.” Bradley’s tongue darted out to wet his lips, taking a deep breath. He could see Thea’s hand moving in the corner of his eye and when she made contact with his naked skin, he sucked in another breath.

“Babe, we were talking. Of course he was looking at me. Would have been quite rude not to.” She poked his side, trying to lighten the mood.

“He didn’t need to look at you like that,” He whispered.

Thea inched closer. “Like what Brad?” Her lips pressed against his bicep, ghosting over his skin.

“Like he wanted you.”

Thea barked out a laugh, coughing when she realised he was serious and didn't find the whole thing amusing. “Oh honey. He was being polite. That’s all. And even if he did look at me like that, it doesn’t matter. All I want is you.” Thea crawled on top of him, kissing his nose when she settled on his chest. When he didn’t answer, she continued to press kisses to his face, tongue darting out to trace his bottom lip.

Flipping them over was easy and Thea gasped his name when he pressed her into the mattress. He lets his hands roam, enjoying the way she shuddered when his fingers traced along the waistband of her underwear. Her touch faltered as his hand skimmed over her shirt clad stomach, their foreheads pressed together.

“Please.” He whispered against the hollow of her throat, lips finding her skin. He pulled back to look into her eyes, repeating his plea. It’s a cheap shot but he could try. She hesitated and Brad decided to throw caution to the wind as he pressed his hips closer.

“Thea. Please, I want you. Say you want me too. Say you’re mine.” He begged. Tell me you belong to me. Tell me you don’t want anyone else. Tell me I am the only one. Tell me you don’t want him.

“I love you, Thea.” He tried again, leaning back slightly. An uncomfortable tightness grew in his chest, very much unlike the tightness of his boxers. Her silence sent him into a downward spiral of doubt and insecurities, hands reaching inside his chest and squeezing his heart.

“Brad. Bradley. Look at me.” As if she could sense his panic, Thea reached up to frame his face, thumbs stroking his cheeks. “Promise me this isn’t because of what happened tonight. Promise me what you’re saying is how you really feel.”

“Of course it’s real.” It’s also so Athena would leave him alone but Thea didn’t need to know that. She didn’t need to know about the bet. But he did love her, so much he thinks there’s no room for him to feel anything else than this overwhelming need to constantly be with her.

“I love you, too, Bradley.” He didn't need to hear more, reaching down to press their lips together. Thea reached blindly for the light, the room descending into darkness as he slowly pulled the shirt over her head.

“I’m yours Bradley. I want you.”

“Nice of you to skip out on the bill, dickhead.” Was Athena’s way of joining the conversation he and Bob currently was involved in. The bar was packed with people, nothing new for a Friday night but Bradley had hoped to avoid Athena tonight. Even if he had made good on the bet, Bradley had hoped a single text would suffice and then everything could go back to normal.

He was nursing his fourth beer when his backseater joined him and Thea’s brother at the bar.

“I said I was sorry. And we did pay you back.” Bradley muttered, rolling his eyes. Athena waved down the bartender, asking for a beer, eyeing Bradley up and down.

Bob smiled politely when she joined them, munching on a few peanuts. “Isn’t Hangman here? We were talking about going to the golf course before dinner ended.” He angled the cup of peanuts towards her, a silent offer.

“No, he’s meeting someone tonight I think.” There it was again, the white hot jealousy igniting within him every time they mentioned Seresin. Everything about the man infuriated Bradley. His friendship with Bob, the very obvious way he looked at Thea.

“Well, I’ll see him tomorrow. You up for some golf Rooster?” Bob’s invitation was genuine but Bradley could think of a hundred other things to do before meeting Hangman again. He swallowed a mouthful of beer before answering.

“Sorry, but I’ve got some solo simulations to run.” There was no need to mention that he’d never played a single game of golf in his life, except on Wii. He detested the sport, there wasn’t anything remotely fun about it.

Bob smiled brightly, so like Thea’s smile. “Yeah, Thea mentioned that earlier when we spoke. Sorry man, totally forgot.”

Bob downed the last of his water before bidding them goodnight, citing that he and Seresin planned to meet up early the next day.

Athena pounced the moment he was gone, turning towards Bradley with a wicked glint in her eye. “So? Tomorrow’s the deadline, Bradshaw. Sealed the deal yet? If not, we could always call Jake. He’d be down to fuck her in a second, she’s all he’s talked about since dinner.” As always, she pushed the right buttons and Bradley forced himself to let go of his bottle before he broke it.

“Fuck him. I saw the way he was looking at her. She’s mine. Tell him to back to fuck off,” Bradley paused, letting out a heavy breath. “I did it. So you can back off now.”

“Nice. Honestly, I didn't think you had it in you chicken. I’m proud. Next round’s on me.” Athena smacked his arm, looking way too pleased. Bradley had a feeling she wasn’t going to behave any different. Before he could say something, Orca and Spot showed up, nodding their hellos.

“What is this I hear about you buying Simons? What did we miss?”

“Bet Bradshaw here free drinks forever if he fucked lil Floyd within three weeks.” Bradley choked on his beer, patting his own chest to get rid of the fluid in his throat. He turned to Athena, anger coursing through his veins. What the fuck was she doing?

“Hey look at that, big man Bradshaw. Good for you. Was she any good? She looks like she’s good.” Orca nudged his side, filthy smile in place, his blue eyes shining with interest. Bradley had every intention of walking away from the conversation but Athena clucked quietly under her breath, making crude gestures with her hands.

Spot grimaced, looking around the packed bar. “Tone it down man. What if Floyd hears? Don’t think he would appreciate listening to how Bradshaw railed his little sister.” He ended his sentence with a laugh, proudly accepting the high five from both Athena and Orca.

“Come on Rooster, share. She’s a pretty thing, isn’t she? She’s like a damn princess, all happy and shit.” Athena mocked, waving down the bartender for another round. Bradley sighed audibly, taking another gulp of his beer.

Orca and Spot laughed in tandem, making kissy faces at him. “Bradshaw, don’t go all shy on us now.”

“Maybe she was terrible. Fuck chicken, is that it? It was bad, wasn’t it? Fuck, I knew I should have let Hangman loose. You should have seen them at dinner. There were fumes coming out of this one's ears.” Athena patted Bradley on the arm. All three of them were laughing now, trading insults.

Bradley wasn’t drunk but he had consumed enough beers to have his judgement clouded. And when Athena once again mentioned Hangman, and his very obvious attraction to Bradley’s girlfriend, he had enough.

“Fuck you, Athena. Hangman isn’t coming anywhere near my girl, ever. And for your information, I fucked her until she cried. So shut the fuck up.”

Orca thumped him on the back, hooting wildly. “Hell yeah Rooster. Good man!” For a split second, pride filled Bradley and he joined in the laughter, reaching for another beer.

“Guess I misjudged you then, Bradshaw. As promised, I’ll back off.”

“Damn right you will,” he spat. “And no mention of any of this to anyone else, you understand? Any of you. I will make sure you’re all grounded.”

“Grounded for what?” Bob asked as he appeared over Bradley’s shoulder.

All eyes turned to Bradshaw as he squeezed his eyes shut for a second before turning to his girlfriend’s brother. “Nothing.”

There was a look on Bob’s face that said he knew more than he was letting on but Bradshaw was too impaired to begin to interpret it correctly. “Mhmm,” Bob hummed as he turned to the rest of the group. “I’m gonna head out. Behave, don’t make me come back to pick up any of you drunks.”

The group bid goodbye to the WSO and turned back to Bradshaw, the looks on their faces begging for details. Unfortunately for him, he was just drunk enough to give them what they wanted.

When Bradley woke the next morning, Thea’s side of the bed was empty and his head was killing him. Rolling over slowly, he spotted a glass of water and Advil on the nightstand, a note laying next to them.

Babe,

Golfing with Bob this morning, didn’t want to wake you. You came back pretty late last night. Drink plenty of water, there’s food in the fridge.

I love you, Thea

Guilt coursed through him as he remembered last night and how he had bragged about their sex life with the rest of his squadron. It was a private matter and he felt threatened enough by Athena to spill details that weren't his to share. Bile rose in the back of his throat and he threw off the covers before sprinting to the bathroom, emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet.

He heaved until there was nothing left, disgust and shame mixing with the hangover, filling his entire body. How could he have felt even a tiny bit proud last night as he shared the most intimate details of his and Thea’s relationship? How could he once again let Athena influence him? Each time he tried to step away, Athena was there, shoving another drink in his hand, mocking him quietly, out of earshot of the others.

Part of him had wanted to tell her how Thea was a thousand times better than Athena could ever hope to be, how he had never had what he and Thea shared while Athena and he fooled around. The other part wanted her to leave him alone, as promised.

Bradley sat back against the bathtub, head in his hands. He only had himself to blame for this. If he was lucky enough, his squad would keep their mouths shut and word would never get back to Bob about last night. He’d rather avoid a fist to the face. And either way, Bob was playing golf with Hangman today, so he wouldn’t be around the guys anyway.

Bradley frowned, swallowing thickly as he sluggishly moved back to the bedroom, reaching for Thea’s note. ‘Golfing with Bob this morning’ stared back at him, the nauseous pit in his stomach making itself known again.

If Thea was off with Bob this morning, it also meant she was hanging out with Hangman. Bradley crumpled the note in his hand, trying to calm his anger bubbling to the surface.

After Bradley had explicitly told Thea that Hangman wanted her, looked at her, even though she was with Bradley, she had gone off to spend the day with him. Without telling Bradley about it. She had deliberately kept it from him. Before he had left for the bar last night, he asked about her plans and Thea had just told him she was going to stay at home and catch up on chores.

Now she was off, meeting the one man Bradley had warned her off from. How could she? Maybe it had been her plan all along. Maybe Bob wasn’t even there, maybe it was just an excuse so she could meet Seresin alone.

Thea had told Bradley she loved him four nights prior but if she could lie about this, who knew if what she had told him that night was true? He was spiralling, mind going over every possible scenario. How Hangman probably had his hands on what was his right this second, how Thea had lied to him.

The ping of his phone interrupted his train of thought, alerting him to a new message. Scrambling, he pushed off the floor only to see Athena’s name flashing across the screen. It’s a picture attached in the text message and Bradley felt like vomiting again. In the picture, clearly taken from a distance, Thea is laughing, head thrown back and her hand on Hangman’s arm, matching smile on his face. Bob is there too but Bradley can’t tear his eyes from how she’s touching him.

Another message pops up beneath the picture. ‘Lookin’ cosy, don’t they?’ appears first and the three dots indicate that Athena is still typing. Fury fills his veins as she sends another picture, this time of Hangman and Thea getting into the same car, Hangman’s hand on her wrist.

Bradley threw the phone across the room, watching the screen crack as it hit the wall. His heart pounded against his ribcage, blood rushing to his head as he tried to control his breathing.

Somewhere he could hear the front door opening, Thea calling his name. Was she checking to see if the condo was empty? Was Hangman waiting in the car? Did she bring him here, thinking Bradley had already gone back to base.

“Brad?” He looked up to see Thea hovering in the doorway, concern written all over her face. “Babe, you look awful. Have you eaten?” She moved towards him but stopped short when Bradley stumbled to his feet, fire burning in his veins.

“Is he here?” He spat, nostrils flaring as he stared her down. He wouldn’t let her lie to him anymore.

Thea looked genuinely confused. “Is who here? Bob dropped me off but he couldn’t stay. Didn’t you see my note?”

“Oh I saw plenty!” Bradley laughed harshly. He moved then, bending down to grab his phone. The screen was cracked in three places but it miraculously still worked. He punched in the code, Thea’s birthday, opening his messages. The picture of her and Hangman getting into a car together lit up the screen.

“This! I saw this. What the fuck is going on? Why were you with him?” He showed the phone in her face, the pictures that Athena sent him on the display. Bradley watched her face closely as she studied the phone, brows furrowing.

“Babe, I told you. Bob invited me for a round of golf and Jake was there too. Apparently they’ve played together before and me and Bob always used to play back home. Bobby said he invited you too. He said you declined.”

Bradley snorted. “Yeah, and you obviously found that particular opportunity very good. A whole fucking day, alone with him!” Tired of being cooped up in the bedroom, he shoved past Thea and headed for the kitchen.

“An opportunity? Brad, that doesn’t even make sense. And Bob was there too? I don’t understand why you hate Jake so much. He’s been nothing but kind.” Her footsteps alerted him that he was being followed.

Bradley spun on his heel, making Thea smack right into him. “HE HAD HIS HANDS ON YOU!” The force of his voice made Thea take a step back, eyes wide. Bradley watched as confusion crossed her face, mouth opening and closing. She was stalling for time. To come up with yet another lie.

Brad swore, jaw clenching. “I saw you two. You let him touch you. You’re mine and you let him touch you!”

Thea blinked, lower lip quivering. “Babe, what are you talking about?” He fumbled for the phone again, showing her the other photo Athena sent.

“Brad.. where did you even get this? Look, he was joking about something, okay? I don’t understand why you’re so upset. We played and then we had lunch. Bobby drove me home afterwards.”

She’s lying. If she had sounded guilty, Bradley might have had believed her but all she did was sound confused. Probably to throw him off.

“Stop, just stop! Just admit you clearly came along just so you could see him. Tell me, did you plan this? When I went to the bathroom during dinner maybe, hm? Did you plan to meet up with him, and then let me fuck you the same night? You feel good now, when you’ve had us both?” He couldn’t stop, not now. Bradley needed to know the truth. The tears on Thea’s face might have hurt less if he wasn’t so angry, so filled with disgust and jealousy.

“Had you both? Bradley, there’s nothing between Jake and me. I love you. There isn’t anyone else.” She cried. Her tears did nothing to stop him.

“STOP LYING TO ME! JUST ADMIT YOU FUCKED HIM!” Bradley slammed his hand down on the counter, rattling the items on there. Thea shied away instantly, backing up until her body hit the wall. Bradley didn’t care, continuing his rant. “Was he good? Better than me? ANSWER!”

Thea pressed closer against the wall, sobs catching in her throat. “Please stop. Brad, please.” When he stayed quiet, Thea took a deep breath and straightened up.

“Look at me Bradley. Look at me. I don’t understand why you would think there’s anything between Jake and me. I’m with you. Okay? I’m right here. I love you. So please, just stop, just -“.

“SHUT UP!” Bradley grabbed the nearest item, hurling it towards the wall. He realised his mistake a moment too late as the glass crashed into the wall, Thea’s hand flying up to cover her mouth. The fear in her eyes was evident and Bradley immediately backtracked. He tried to apologise, moving towards her at the same time.

“Don’t.” Thea held out a hand, stopping him in his tracks.

Bradley’s hands shook as he tried to reach for her but she moved away, further from him. “I said don’t.”

He tried to say her name but Thea only shook her head, tears still streaming down her face. “I think you should go. You need to cool down.”

Her voice is quiet, barely above a whisper but Bradley heard her. The anger was still burning and he scoffed, reaching for his keys. “Sure. I’ll go. Don’t forget to text Seresin that I’m gone so he can swoop in.”

He turned on his heels, collecting his phone and jacket on his way out. Thea moved, asking him to stop it and just calm down. But he knows he’ll do something he’s going to regret, so Bradley opts for slamming the door behind him, rattling the windows.

He pulled out of the driveway, knuckles white as he tried to control his breathing. He arrived at Parlor Bar before his mind caught up and for a moment he sat in silence in the car. He should go back, get on his knees and apologise. Wrap her up in his arms and never let go. But Seresin’s hand on her stays in the front of his mind and with that, Bradley made up his mind. He needed a drink.

“Well, if it ain’t Bradshaw. What’s got you down?” Athena mocked as she joined him at the bar. Bradley is already 5 beers in and not interested in entertaining her. Thea’s betrayal still stings and he downed the rest of his beer, signalling the bartender for another. Athena ordered a beer as well, leaning back in her seat. He didn’t answer her so his WSO made her own conclusions. “Aw, did you and the princess have a fight?”

Bradley swivelled around on his stool, beer spilling from the glass. “Fuck off. Leave me alone. This is all your fault.”

Athena snorted, taking a sip of her beer. “I fail to see how it is. I delivered on my end. You fucked lil Floyd, and I backed off. If there’s a problem in paradise, I’m pretty sure it’s your fault, Rooster.”

“You did this. You forced me into accepting the bet.” Rooster argued, anger bubbling over. The bartender backed away after sliding an Old Fashioned in front of him and Bradley swept it down with one gulp.

"FORCED you?" Athena scoffed, a mirthless laugh following. "Bradshaw I didn't force you to do anything. Everything you did was on your own. Did I taunt you? Yeah. But you're a fucking Navy pilot, jackass. You should be above that. Guess they were wrong about you too."

Bradley stood suddenly, the stool rocking on its legs before clattering to the floor. "You fucking bitch. You can't handle the attention not being on you for three seconds and I'm the one who should be above it?"

Athena chuckled again, a mischief flashing in her eyes before she bit her lip and closed the distance between them. "You think I'm jealous of her? You think I’m jealous of your unicorn princess? You think I didn't have attention? Bradley, I've even had your attention this whole time."

"You fucking liar," Bradley spat. The room was spinning slightly, the amounts of alcohol he’s downed in rapid succession making itself known.

"Maybe," she smirked as her hands settled on his hips before one hand skimmed his waistline and down his zipper. "Or maybe you're trying to lie to yourself."

Bradley hadn't even realised his cock had hardened in his pants while he was fuming at his coworker. Neediness overtook him at that point, fueled by the alcohol coursing through his veins, nearly enough to have him seeing double. Flashes of Hangman touching Thea in his mind, touching his girlfriend, was enough. He crashed his lips to Athena’s and pressed his length further into her hand. "Your room. Now. Fucking whore."

Waking up hungover two days in a row hadn’t been Bradley’s plans for the weekend, yet he awoke feeling like he’d been trampled by a herd of elephants, throat drier than the Sahara Desert. Trying desperately to fight the nausea, Bradley rolled out of bed while shielding his eyes from the bright life, trying to navigate his way to the bathroom.

His head was pounding and he didn't remember how he even got home. After the fight, he hadn’t believed Thea would even let him inside the house, nevermind back into her bed. Regret flowed through his body and the pit in his stomach grew. A movement from the corner of his eyes caught his attention and he thanked every God there was for Thea letting him back inside.

He stumbled into the dresser, cursing as his foot caught on the bottom of it. There shouldn’t be a dresser there, Thea had hers by the entrance, not the door to the bathroom. Bradley stopped in his endeavour to reach the bathroom and rubbed his eyes, looking around the room.

A flash of panic went through him as Bradley realised this was not Thea’s bedroom. The silhouette of the body buried beneath the blankets moved, only to reveal the last person Bradley wanted to see. Athena.

His heartbeat accelerated, bile rising in his throat as he spotted his clothes strewn across the room, Athena’s naked body among the sheets. Pieces of the night before flashed before his eyes.

“No no no,” Bradley whispered, something foul and ugly building within him, “Fuck!”

He reached down to collect his clothes, trying to escape before she woke but the nausea wouldn't let him. Bradley sank to the floor, back against the wall as he tried to desperately stop the tears. His phone is buzzed in the pocket of the jeans, the cracked screen lightning up with Thea’s name. The bile returned again and Bradley scrambled to his feet and rushed into the bathroom before emptying his stomach over the toilet. After heaving what alcohol was left in his system, Bradley struggled to his feet, hands grasped at the sink.

What the fuck was he going to do?

“Good morning sunshine. You look like you’ve had better days.” Athena appeared in the doorway. He felt sick as he looked at her. More memories of last night popped up, his hands on her body, her mouth on his skin. He coughed violently, his throat still dry despite emptying the contents of his stomach moments before.

His face twisted. “What time is it?”

“Closer to lunch. Thanks for last night by the way. Nice to know the unicorn princess hadn’t turned you into a saint.” Bradley couldn’t stop the tears from falling when she mentioned Thea.

His heartbreak turned into anger when Athena laughed. “Oh, does the prince need a tissue, hm?”

“Fuck you.” He fumed, turning on shaking legs to look at her. Athena grinned, tongue darting out to wet her lips.

“You already did, if you don’t remember. I honestly thought it would prove to be a challenge to get you into bed, but you went oh so easily. Now, tell me. Who is better? Me or your little girlfriend?”

Bradley bit back his response as her words reached him. Get into bed?

“You planned this.”

Athena scoffed, leaning against the doorframe. “I wouldn’t say that it was a plan. You’ve always been so easy to manipulate, Bradshaw. I just had to press the right buttons. I did think you would change after meeting her but it seems like you’re just the same,” she pauses for a second, taking in his reaction, “honestly, I just wanted to see if I could.”

Bradley opened his mouth but words failed him. Athena took two steps, invading his personal space but his feet refused to move, frozen to the spot.

She patted his cheek. “Thank you for your service, Lieutenant. You can see yourself out.”

He had hoped Thea wouldn’t be home when he finally made his way over to her place, but luck wasn’t on his side.

“Brad, oh good, you’re back. Listen, I feel awful about what happened. I need you to know that nothing is going on between Jake and me. Okay? I’m with you and I love you. There’s no one else. He’s just a friend. And he didn’t do anything remotely close to flirting with me. Bob was there the entire time, you can ask him. Just.. please, I don’t want us to fight.”

Thea kept rambling and he felt sick to his stomach. “Thea, babe.. I am so sorry.”

She paused for a moment. “Thank you. I understand that you were angry but your words really hurt me. I don’t understand why you don’t trust me.” The sadness in her voice brought a wave of anguish. Bradley knew he needed to tell her, but how could he when she was trying to fix his mess?

“I do trust you.” Is the only thing he can say. He does trust her. His own insecurities are at fault here, his own stupidity and inability to deal with his emotions.

“Okay, good. Uh, you kind of stink. Sorry. Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll make some food and we can talk more.” Thea is already moving around the kitchen, pulling out various ingredients from the pantry.

“I’m so sorry.” He says again, not knowing what else to say.

“And I forgive you babe. I just want this to be over, okay?” Thea mixed the eggs into the pancake batter, eyes trained on the stove.

Bradley swallowed thickly. “I made a mistake.”

Thea slowed her movements. “What do you mean?”

Bradley bit his bottom lip, sniffling quietly.

“After you told me to get out yesterday, I went for a drink. At Parlor Bar. You told me to calm down, so I went for a beer. I thought it would help.”

Thea pushed the batter to the side. “Okay. Like I said, I can smell it on you. It’s fine Brad.”

“No it’s not. It’s everything but fine!” Bradley wailed, rising to his full height. His heart plummeted to his stomach as Thea’s face fell.

“What’s going on?”

Bradley hiccuped, wiping away the tears with the back of his hand. “Athena showed up. At the bar. She figured out that we fought. Uh, I had a lot to drink. I was still angry, and jealous. God, I was so jealous. He’s everything I’m not, you know? And seeing you two together just bugged me, I-”

“Bradley.” His name falling from her lips stopped him in his tracks. It’s cold and harsh.

Thea choked up, hurt painted across her face. “What did you do?”

“I’m so sorry.”

She’s quiet for a long time, long enough to make him fidget uncomfortably.

“Did you sleep with her? Did you fuck her?” In the short time they’ve been together, Bradley has never heard her speak like this. He keeps quiet, his eyes trained on the floor.

“Answer the fucking question, Bradley! Did you sleep with her?” Thea’s voice shook, the trembling of her voice breaking his heart in the process.

“Yes.”

Thea laughed, the betrayal swimming in her eyes. “So after you accused me of sleeping with Jake, after you asked me if I felt good about something I hadn’t even done, you decided that the best course of action was to fuck your ex?”

Bradley leapt from his place against the kitchen counter. “I was wrong, okay?” He paused, swallowing hard. “Sweetheart, listen, it didn’t mean anything. She didn’t mean anything. It was a mistake. I was drunk, and I was angry and -” He fumbled for the right words, trying to fix the mess he had created.

“I TRUSTED YOU! I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING BRADLEY! One fight and you run back into her arms?” Thea dipped her head back as she sniffled and tried to stop the tears. His heart broke as she cried, taking a step back as he approached.

“Sweetheart…-” Bradley tried to reach for Thea but she pushed him away.

“Don’t touch me. Don’t you dare touch me after you’ve been with her.” Her hands trembled, with anger or betrayal, Bradley didn’t know. All he knew was that she slipped further from him with each second. He had to make amends.

“Did it mean so little to you?” Thea whispered. “Did I?”

“No. You’re everything. I love you.” Bradley didn’t know what else to say at this point. At first, he thought that maybe she would forgive him but after her reaction, he knew that it’s over.

Thea laughed through her tears. They’re standing on opposite sides of the kitchen but the distance between them feels bigger. “If that was true, you wouldn’t have slept with her. You don’t do this to someone you love.”

Bradley’s chin meets his chest, head hanging low. “I’m sorry. If I could take it back, I would.”

“Stop saying you’re sorry. It won’t fix this.”

“What can I do? Please, tell me what to do.” He pleaded, trying to round the island but stayed back as she shied away from him. “Please.”

She huffed at his words. “You can’t do anything, Brad. It’s already done.”

“Thena, honey, please…-”

She looked up, hands balling into fists by her sides. The hurt in Thea’s eyes slowly burned into anger, her mouth twisting in disbelief and fury. “What did you just call me?” Fuck.

“Babe..-”

“We’re done.” Thea spat, face twisted in pain. There was an odd calmness in her voice and Bradley hated it. He wished she would scream at him. It would have felt better.

“You know, I’ve given you every part of myself. All of me. I trusted you. And in return, you’ve broken all those parts,” Thea whispered. Bradley cried, wishing desperately that he could turn back the time.

“Get out. This,” she pointed back and forth between them, “Is over.”

Bradley looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes were red and puffy. He looked as hollow as he felt. His image mocked him, a cruel smile twisted on his face.

His fist made contact with the glass before he could think about it. Blood mixed with glass crashed to the floor but it was only a dull ache compared to agony in his heart. It was overwhelming and he needed to feel something, anything else. With a swipe of his arm, he shoved the objects in his desk to the ground. He watched as they broke but it didn’t make him feel any better.

All he could think of was Thea’s face. The tears on her face, her anger and the betrayal he had committed. The damage was done, there was nothing he could do to fix this.

Bradley’s hands shook as he reached for his phone. He knocked over the bottle of Jack that sat on his nightstand but paid it little attention.

With trembling fingers he punched in a number he hadn’t called in years. As he waited, he both wished for the person on the other end to pick up and not pick up. He didn’t even know if this was the right number anymore.

“Hello? Captain Mitchell speaking.”

Bradley let out a sob. He’d almost forgotten what Pete sounded like. He swallowed hard before answering.

“It’s me. It’s Bradley. I’ve fucked up, I need your help.”

Taglist: @wildbornsiren @therebeccaw @imjess-themess @antiquitea @fuckyeahhangman @writercole @hederasgarden @yanna-banana @wkndwlff @bobfloydsbabe @hollandorks @anniesocsandgeneralstore @ereardon @luminousnotmatter @roosterscock @thedroneranger @fandomxpreferences @top-hhun @princessmisery666 @bradshawsbitch @princessphilly @a-reader-and-a-writer @green-socks @angstybluejay @seresinhangmanjake @ayorooster@notroosterbradshaw @indynerdgirl @gigisimsonmars @girl-in-the-chairs-void @bradshawbabes @unhinged-btch @horseshoegirl @sadpetalsstuff @bradshawbaby @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @ummjustfics @septemberrie @somenamewithepineapple @seresinsweetie @crescentwolf @seresinhangmanjake @sylviebell @waklman @roosterforme @rosiahills22 @dempy @i0veless @ilovewriting06 @genius2050 @demxters @amortentiadrops @teacupsandtopgun @hangmanscoming

#bradley bradshaw x oc #rooster x oc #bradley rooster bradshaw x oc #fe writes #fic: let me drown #oc: thea floyd #top gun maverick fic #top gun maverick #bradley rooster bradshaw

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katcoquette · 2 years

Text

Rooftop Dreamin'

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x f!Reader

part of my cabin in the woods collection happening throughout the month of october- a collection of stand-alone* stories (cute fall & spooky) set in the same cabin in the woods, read them all if you dare uncover the full mystery...

summary: after spending the first evening in the cabin catching up with old friends, your husband thoughtfully plans one of his notorious surprises for you

✧ word count: 3k

✧ tw/tags: wife!reader, wine ! drunk !, fluffy, bradley being considerate and thoughtful ugh

✧ author's note: at the end when he shrugs about the wine I'm picturing the little shrug he does to Hangman at the end of the movie okay? okay? picture that.

You’re grateful for the monotonous task of cutting up fruit after the chaos of twenty-something people arriving to the cabin at the same time, bringing in bags, and settling into rooms. It’d only taken twenty-five minutes for everything to get put away, and ten more for dinner to be prepped- another perk of having a big group, along with the great company.

Now you, Natasha, Bob, Hangman, their partners, and Rooster were waiting in the kitchen for everything to finish cooking. When you’re done with the fruit, you put the knife down and wipe your hands on a nearby towel, turning around to lean against the counter.

“I’m so glad everyone was able to come this week.” You say, pouting slightly as you pull the two women on both sides of you, Natasha and Hangman’s girlfriend, into your arms. “I missed you all.”

You and Rooster had stayed in California for as long as he could following the mission, but eventually he was called back to Oceana. Fanboy, Harvard, and Yale were also restationed there, but it was still hard to leave the others, especially the two you were currently hugging.

You’d clicked instantly, and even though Rooster and Hangman didn’t get along for the majority of your time there, you’d gotten really close. You celebrated the day your boys finally became friends.

“We missed you too.”

There were some new faces among the group- Coyote, Bob, Omaha, and Fritz had all been single the last time you’d been in North Island, but they all brought special someones with them for the week.

Payback was too, but you’d met up with them for drinks a couple of months ago on a trip back to California to see Maverick.

Before long the timer on the oven is ringing, and the rest of dinner is ready.

You all decide to eat together in the dining room, at the biggest wooden table you’ve ever seen. It’s one of the most fun meals you’ve had in a while- it’s nice to see everyone from the October mission two years ago. You didn’t know all the details of what happened, but you’d never seen your husband closer with a group of people, especially his supposed rival, Jake Seresin.

When the meal is finished, the group splits up- some people go to the kitchen to clean up, and others- you included, move to the living room to catch up on what everyone had been doing in the months, or years, since they’d last seen each other.

You all tried your best to keep in touch, visiting whenever you happened to be in the same cities, but this trip is the first time all twelve pilots have been together since the mission.

You’re not sure where Rooster has wandered off to until you feel him lean over the back of the couch and wrap his arms around your shoulders twenty minutes later. “There you are.” You put your hands on his forearms and tilt your head back against the couch to look up at him.

He smiles and gives you a sweet kiss, before you turn back to the conversation you were half tuned into. You aren’t meaning to be rude, but people had been walking in and out of the room the entire time, so everyone just keeps chatting even after Rooster takes away your attention.

His head settles onto your shoulder, and he listens to the conversation for a few moments before talking into your ear low enough that only you’re able to hear him.

“I’m stealing you away tonight.” You bite back a smile, still looking forward. “Oh, are you? What happens if I want to stay and catch up with everyone else?”

“Unfortunately, you don’t get a choice, that’s what stealing means. Besides, aren’t we ‘catching up’ right now?”

“We’re barely participating in any of these conversations.”

“But we’re still on the edge of them.” To emphasize his point, he walks around the back of the couch and sits down next to you, pulling you into his side. You shift so you’re more comfortable under the arm he’s put around you as he addresses the rest of the room. “So, what’re we talking about?”

“We’re thinking of something to do tonight. I think we should try out the pool- it’s supposed to be heated.”

“It better be heated, or else we’ll freeze.”

“It’s not that cold outside-“

They continue to discuss the relationship between the pool and the weather, and Rooster glances down at you with a smirk at the conversation he’s spurred. “See? I participated.”

You roll your eyes, amused, and push on his chest. He catches your wrist and tucks it over his side, pulling you further into his arms, resting his chin on the top of your head. You realize he’s settling into the couch, intending on staying there for the next little while, so you relax into him, content with the easy talking and joking you know comes with the group of aviators.

Soon most of the group has wandered back to the main living room, and the idea of trying out the heated pool is brought up again. Most everyone agrees to it, but Rooster sees an opportunity when Fanboy announces to the group that they’re heading to bed instead, “Yeah, us too.”

Hangman tuts, “Booo, the married people are spoiling alll the fun.” His girlfriend takes the half-full glass of wine from where it’s swaying precariously over the couch in his hand and moves it to the side table next to her.

You smile at the interaction.

“Sorry buddy, but Y/N really hasn’t been feeling good today. I think the only thing that will help is some alone time with me.” Rooster jokes, but Hangman doesn’t catch on like everyone else does.

“She seems fine to me.” He retorts, earning him a nudge to his side. Rooster looks down at you and raises an eyebrow, communicating with just a look that he needs backup from you.

You’re so caught off-guard by his grand excuse of throwing you under the bus that all you can muster is a weak, obviously fake, cough. He raises an eyebrow and tries not to laugh.

“You four go- and anyone else who’s feeling ‘under the weather’.” Phoenix winks. “The rest of us will be outside.”

With that, everyone starts to move.

Bradley takes your hand and helps you up, leading you, surprisingly, back to the kitchen. “I thought we were going upstairs.”

He opens the fridge, “We are, I’m just grabbing this first.” When he steps back from behind the refrigerator door, he has a basket in his hands.

You gasp softly, lifting the towel covering the opening to peek inside. “When did you get this ready?”

“Right before I came and found you.” Your eyes light up with a thought as you inspect the contents and you press a finger to his lips excitedly. “Wait one second- we’re missing something.”

Bradley watches you disappear into the pantry and reemerge a few minutes later holding a bottle of wine. You lift it to show him, a proud smile on your face.

He puts the basket on the counter. “Now where did you find that?”

You point to the room you’d just exited. “There’s stairs to a secret wine cellar in there. It’s actually kind of creepy.”

He’s smirking now, “And you just helped yourself?” You shrug, a playful smile on your lips. “It was unlocked…and I didn’t see any instructions telling me not to…”

His hands grab your hips and pull you to him, and then he’s cupping your face and kissing you softly. “You’re a bad influence..” He says against your lips. You hum in disagreement, “Besides-“ You kiss him again, “-it’s like super cheap wine, I’ll just pay the owners back for it.”

He laughs, turning around to grab the basket and start walking to your shared room. “Okay, maybe you’re not as naughty as I thought.”

You shift the wine bottle into your arm to make sure it doesn’t fall, going over to one of the cupboards to find two wine glasses. “No wait, I can be naughty. Bradley- wait!”

He chuckles, pauses long enough for you to catch up to him, and then he’s putting his hand gently on your back to guide you up the stairs to the room you’d picked out earlier. You put the glasses down on the dresser and watch as Bradley walks over to the window and opens it.

After removing the screen, he climbs out with the basket. “Bradley!” You turn and pick the glasses back up and walk over to the window, completely confused. He pops his head back in and offers you his hand. “Come on.”

He helps you onto the roof just outside your window. It’s not as steep as you would’ve assumed it to be, and it faces out toward the driveway. He keeps one hand steadily on your back as you make your way to a blanket and pillows set up toward the middle.

“Ta da!” He holds his hands out to the setup, and you can’t help but smile at how cute his behavior is.

You wrap your arms tightly around him, and despite the awkwardness of your full hands, it’s still completely comforting to you.

He gives the best hugs.

“Bradleyy-” You pull away for a moment to put the wine and glasses down. “This is so sweet. You’re so sweet.”

When you look back at him your eyes are a little teary. “You never cease to surprise me, Bradshaw.”

Although him surprising you isn’t anything new, he did it often, but it never failed to make you emotional every time.

You absentmindedly stroke the hairs on the back of his neck, pulling him down to kiss you. He smiles afterwards, “That’s the idea, baby.” He gives you another quick kiss, then takes a step back and holds out his hand to you. “Shall we?”

You take his hand and sit down, readjusting the pillows behind your back. “I thought it would be fun to take advantage of the clear skies and lack of light pollution.”

He pulls the basket in front of the two of you, taking the cover off and pulling out the snacks he’d put together. “And of course- we needed snacks.”

You smile, “Of course.”

He hands you a glass and uncorks the bottle, leaning back a little when it pops. “Cheers.” You say once he has his own, clinking your glasses gently. “To us.”

You both take a sip, and then you grab a couple of grapes and try to throw them into your mouth. He lays back on his side, propping himself up to watch you on one elbow. “Careful! We’re literally sitting on a roof.”

“Babe, I’m a pro.” You toss another grape up in the air, blinking when it hits the corner of your mouth and then the roof. You both watch it roll off the edge. “Pfft.” He scoffs, taking another gulp.

“That didn’t count.”

He watches you try three more times until you finally get one in your mouth. You put both arms up the air, cheering through your closed mouth.

“Ayyy!” You high five the hand he holds up, and then grab your glass, mirroring his position. You both take another sip, keeping your eyes on each other, smiling.

“So… what should we talk about?” You laugh at his question, flipping onto your back. “Have we already run out of things to talk about?” You turn your head to stare at him.

The moon is bright tonight- it gives off enough light to illuminate your husband’s face. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was glowing. You’re not drunk enough for that thought yet.

When you turn your head to look at him for the umpteenth time tonight, your eyes roam over his face, first his hair, then his mouth- his eyes, nose…back to his mouth.. You notice his mustache twitch above his lip, so you look back to his eyes again.

“What?” He asks.

A soft smile is on your lips as you take another sip. “Nothing…” You trail off, reaching out to touch his cheek. “I just love you a lot.”

“I love you too. So much.” He reaches for the bottle again, topping off your glass. “But yes, I can’t think of any other topics of conversations to have with you.” A wink accompanies his statement. “Are you trying to get me drunk, lieutenant?”

He quirks up the corner of his mouth, giving you a little shrug.

Soon enough, you’re sitting up and holding out the wine bottle to show him that it was now empty.

“We drank the whole bottle.” You say straight-faced. He rolls over to look at you, then point accusingly. “Noo, I think you drank the whole bottle, sweetheart. I only had a couple of glasses.”

You poke his cheek, “I know you’re feeling it.”

He holds up his fingers. “Maybe a little bit.” You put the empty bottle into the basket, and then lay down closer to him, resting your head in the crook of his arm. “I don’t think we should move for at least an hour. We’ll go tumbling off the roof.”

He chuckles, “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” You fall into a comfortable silence- just existing on the roof of a cabin in the woods with him for...you don’t even know how long.

You can’t think of anywhere you’d rather be.

You’re sure at least an hour or two has passed, based solely on the now absent noises from the backyard where the pool was, and the way the stars have shifted. You’d been pointing them out to each other in between other random thoughts, and the silence.

Now, you break it again.

“You’re my best friend.” You say toward the sky. “Do you know that?” He rubs your shoulder. “I know. You’re my best friend too. That’s why I married you. Did you know that?”

You sniff, partly because of the cold, and partly because the wine bottle had caught up to you somewhere between hearing Coyote get pushed into the pool and pointing out a shooting star.

Bradley had missed it- and didn’t believe you for a solid five minutes, until he finally saw one himself. That had started a contest- who could spot the most shooting stars. You’d settled on it being a tie.

“Yeah, I know.”

A shiver goes down your spine at the breeze that picks up around you. Bradley tightens his arm around you, then pulls another blanket over the both of you, tucking your side in under you.

You stay like this, in his arms, looking up at the sky, until headlights flash up from below you. When you sit up, you see the gate at the end of the driveway closing behind a car. “Looks like Payback’s here.”

Bradley sits up too, whining slightly at the cold that hit his side without you lying next to him. “That’s not his car though- ooh!” He looks at you excitedly. “Must be his secret guest’s.”

You look at your husband. “It’s not a secret. They’ve been together for, like, months.”

“You’ve met who he’s bringing?”

“Uhh- yeah. We ran into them when we were visiting Mav this summer.”

“I have no memory of that.” He says with a deadpan look on his face, and you know exactly why.

You rub his back, comforting him as if him forgetting was some tragedy. “That’s because you and Payback were drunk off your asses. It’s one of the first things we bonded over- our drunk men.”

“I’ve never gotten that drunk, especially not around other people!”

The corner of your mouth quirks up as you purse your lips, just staring at each other for a few moments, both of you aware that both parts of that sentence are a complete lie.

“We should go say hi.” You say finally, gesturing nonchalantly toward the window you’d climbed through earlier.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

He helps you up, and you slightly stumble into him. He catches you easily, always attentive to your actions- and you giggle, still slightly buzzed. You gather the items you’d brought out and head back inside. On your way down the stairs to the front door, you fill him in on the details of the night he’d missed, purely for entertainment purposes.

After talking with them for a few minutes and pointing them in the direction of a room you know is empty, you’re heading back upstairs. “Not the stairs again.” Rooster groans. “I swear I’ve walked up and down these stairs a hundred times today.”

It’s not wholly an exaggeration, he had insisted on taking your bags up, and then ever the gentleman, ended up taking several other people’s bags up as well. You giggle at his whining, “That was your own fault.” but you hold out a hand to soothe his antics anyway.

You’re not much help, and he ends up supporting you up the wooden stairs to make sure you don’t slip. He shushes you multiple times, and at one point you even have to pause and sit down part way up- you’re laughing so hard.

As you walk back to your room, you lean closer to your husband and lower your voice, “I think we played that off reallyyyy well.” He giggles with you, despite being much more sober than you. “They definitely couldn’t tell.”

Soon enough, you’re crawling into bed and your husband’s arms for the night.

“Thanks for bringing us here. I didn’t realize how much I missed ‘Tash and the Seres until I saw them.” ‘The Seres’ meaning Jake and his girlfriend, who’d been together so long they may as well be the same person by now.

“’Course, baby.” He brushes his fingers through your hair. It’s something he did often before you went to bed, and it’d become therapeutic for both of you in the years you’d been married. “It was a good day, wasn’t it?”

You snuggle into his chest, “Yeah, it was.” He keeps brushing your hair, and soon enough you’re close to falling asleep.

He notices- he always did, so he reaches over the best he can without disturbing you and flips off the light. “Goodnight sweetheart.” He kisses the top of you head softly, “I love you.”

Taglist: @gcldtom @picked-off-by-barzal @sarahghae @lucianaasf @strawb3rrydr3ss @pennbii @owenniasstars @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @oliviah-25 @theliterarybeldam @littlebadariell @averyhotchner @kyramaximoff @rosie-posie08 @shadeds-library @icemansgirl1999 @callsignlunar @dempy @justjedithingss @emptyloverofmine @rach7318 @heyimmadison @simp-for-fictional-people @darling-im-the-queen-of-hell @strawberrishortbabe @blaziniall-blog @atarmychick007 @poppet05 @honey-leclerc @fanboyluvr @maellem @dannyavi @harper1666 @blahblechblah @gingermimi1975 @persephonesportal @choochoo284 @teti-menchon0604 @hopefulinlove @phoenix1389 @cycbaby @seasidh @nonsensical-nonce @dracosluvbot @army24--7 @unordinare @xoxabs88xox @alexxavicry @Itsyogurl19 @toocoldoutsideforyou @double-j @classygirlything21 @imwaytootires @mak-32

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#bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #rooster x reader #rooster fic #top gun maverick #rooster bradshaw fic #rooster x wife!reader #top gun rooster #bradley bradshaw imagine #katescabininthewoods

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katiesharms · 1 year

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15 (my lucky number!!!) with hangster

cruel summer - taylor swift i don't want to keep secrets just to keep you

people look at rooster and hangman and assume a lot of things.

first, they assume that the two of them are some of the best pilots the navy has to offer. this one's pretty much right on the money, and has been since the two of them first started circling each other during flight training.

the second thing people assume is that they hate each other. this one's mostly untrue, at least from hangman's perspective. sure, at the beginning, there was a good deal of animosity building between the two of them. but, over the years, jake's come to see their relationship as more one of friendly ribbing, of pushing each other to be better.

because rooster knows jake in a way no one else ever will, understands him intuitively in the air, and can anticipate this moves on the ground. and jake knows bradley just the same. they're not stationed together often, and they're never on the same squadron, but they gravitate towards each other like magnets. an inescapable pull that bounces them against one another.

the third thing people assume is that there's a lot of unresolved sexual tension between the two of them.

this one's outright false. maybe it used to be true, for the first few years of their acquaintance. hell, it was probably true all the way up until this summer, when they finally fell into bed together, fueled by the impossible to ignore attraction crackling between them and the unbearable heat of summertime in Lemoore. now, that tension is resolved. or, resolved as it can be, because every time rooster slips out of his bed, jake can feel the need start to mount in his bones, under his skin. like an addiction he can't kick.

it started casually. in a way, it still is casual. nights spent burning off the residual adrenaline and making up for nearly a decade of tension boiling between the two of them. it's not jake's fault that the tension never seems to go away.

the fourth thing people assume is that between the two of them, it's jake with the commitment issues.

this one isn't only false, but the opposite is true. maybe, once upon a time, jake would've flinched away from something consequential, something real and true. but now, when he spends his nights watching the steady way bradley's chest rises and falls, jake finds he wants that more than he ever has before.

he's pretty sure rooster would rather get his hand stuck in a rotary blade than do anything of consequence, though. their relationship exists in the cover of night, hidden from prying eyes and curious friends. jake hasn't even told javy, sworn to secrecy by rooster. it makes him feel almost dirty, like he's not someone bradley would ever want to be associated with.

jake tries not to think about it too much. he has bradley for now, and that's enough. they'll ride out this deployment together for as long as it lasts.

it turns out, that's a lot less time than jake thought they had.

"so, i'll see you tomorrow?" he asks, trying to keep the hope out of his voice as bradley slides out of jake's bed.

"i leave for oceana tomorrow," bradley says casually, pulling his pants up.

jake feels something akin to a stone drop in his stomach. "i didn't know you got reassigned." why didn't you tell me? sits at the back of his throat, unsaid.

rooster shrugs. "didn't seem like a big deal. i mean, it's not like we're going steady or anything." rooster shoots jake a smirk, and it curdles in jake's belly.

because yeah, technically, they weren't going steady or exclusive or anything like that. but jake hasn't slept with anyone else since bradley first crawled into his bed, that heady day in june. and he knows more about bradley than he's ever known about any of his relationships, the story behind every scar, how he snorts when he laughs hard enough, the way his knee always feels sore when it's going to rain. in turn, he's shown parts of himself to rooster that he's never shown anyone before, except maybe javy.

but yeah. they're not dating. and bradley's just made it very clear that that was never the plan.

"right," jake says coldly, keeping his voice level. "well, don't die, i guess."

rooster snorts. "what warm wishes; i'll try my best. same to you."

he gives jake a mock salute and then leaves, slamming the door shut on the way out. it's here, in his messy sheets, the smell of rooster's cologne lingering in the air, that jake realizes the terrible truth: he's in love with bradley bradshaw.

#thanks for the prompt!!!#top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #jake hangman seresin #hangster #bradley rooster bradshaw #prompts

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aristocraticvision · 6 months

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Chapter 367: A Window of Opportunity

“No, I was outside the door the entire time,” St. James said into the phone, carefully looking around to ensure he wasn’t being overheard.

“Prince Stephen is beside himself,” he continued. “They had a terrible argument, and Princess Jessica had to intervene on her stepson’s behalf.”

“Typical of Stephen to be so hard on his son, “ Caroline said. “But is it truly that serious?”

“Absolutely,” St. James replied. “The press is having a field day vilifying Crown Prince Michael, and even those most staunchly supportive of the monarchy are saying that Michael isn’t fit to rule.”

“And how is the young man handling the pressure?”

“He’s near his breaking point, I think,” St. James said. “Lady Helena is the only person holding him together, and honestly I don’t know that even her considerable charms will be sufficient to do so for long.”

“Do your best to ingratiate yourself with Crown Prince Michael, and drive a wedge between Stephen and his son,” Caroline replied. “If we can drive Michael over the edge, there won’t be much hope for the dynasty.”

“My thoughts exactly,” St. James said. “In one swift stroke, we can destroy Stephen and see Weston rid itself of the Marchand dynasty forever!”

“All in good time, St. James,” Caroline said. “Have you learned anything more about the prince’s health issues?”

“No, Bixby is being especially tight-lipped on the subject,” St. James said. “All he’ll say is that the prince has been tired lately, or that he’s having medical tests done – nothing specific.”

“Very well,” Caroline replied. “Keep trying to learn more – if Stephen is truly ill, fate may do our job for us. I’ll be monitoring the situation from here, but I expect you to call me regularly with updates.”

“It will,” St. James said. “If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll destroy this wretched family once and for all.”

CHAPTER 1 | BEGINNING OF PART 4 | PREV | NEXT

Continent of Oceana | History of Weston | History of Corwyn | History of Torenth | History of Allycia

#ts4 simblr #ts4 royalty #ts4 royal legacy #ts4 royal family #ts4 royal simblr #ts4 story #ts4 monarchy #ts4 royal story #principality of weston #a servant's betrayal #Prince Stephen III of Weston #Crown Prince Michael of Weston #nathaniel st. james #Chapter 367 #a window of opportunity #oceana stories

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da-proti-toku-grem · 25 days

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*🔔🔔🔔* LATE NIGHT DELIVERY 4 MY FAVE SPANISH WRITER N MOOT, MACA!! :33

*🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁*

(Clubbing/bar hopping with our Jokermen AU where they run a gay bar somewhere in Vhrnika called the Barve Oceana where Jan N Bojan are the bartenders,Kris N Nace are waiter’s with Jure being the DJ.Most of the Esc famliy are regulars at the place,especially a certain bowlcut wearing Finn BUT another person who also frequents here is Damon,Kris just so happens 2 be tending 2 that part of the bar while he’s there N they meet :3) if I was gonna make this lil AU happen it’d probably be like a pick-a-mix of crack,smut N bit of angst cuz in most stories the princess is the one suffering except what if the princess were the one 2 cause the suffering instead..?

okay okay oKAY you've got my attention!!!!

I was already sold with the idea and then I read "crack, smut and a bit of angst" and now I'm even more 👀👀👀👀

If you ever write it I'll read it for sure :3

#joker out #moodboard #ask #maca speaks

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oceana-official · 1 year

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( 🐬 ) . . . — ELEANOR SAGE PARKER, better known as SAGE, is a korean-american artist under BIGHIT ENTERTAINMENT. she's the first member announced of OCEANA, as a LEADER, LEAD VOCALIST & SUB RAPPER.

in the group's story line, she is the oldest and FIRST PRINCESS in the kingdom of oceana.

( ⚓ ) . . . — BASICS !

BIRTH NAME : eleanor sage parker

KOREAN NAME : han seulgi ( hangul: 한슬기 )

NICKNAMES : gigi, park, ele, green, sagie

BIRTHDAY : 8 june, 2000

BIRTH PLACE : colomar, france

ZODIAC SIGN : gemini

NATIONALITY : french

ETHNICITY : korean

FAMILY : mother and father, one older brother,( 1997 ), one younger brother ( 2004 )

LANGUAGES : korean (native), english (100%), french (85%), japanese (75%)

( 🐚 ) . . . — BODY !

HEIGHT : 167 cm (5’5″)

BLOOD TYPE : O+

BODY MODIFICATION : earlobe piercings on both ears, three tattoos on her arms.

FACE CLAIM : roh yoonseo ( actress )

( 🦭 ) . . . — PERSONALITY !

STRENGTHS : kind, empathetic, compassionate, intelligent

FLAWS : perfectionist, stubborn, impatient, overthinking, self doubt

( 🪸 ) . . . — MEMBER'S INFO. !

STAGE NAME : SAGE

AGENCIES : bighit Entertainment ( 2015 - now )

TRAINING PERIOD : 2 years and 6 months

GROUP : ØCEANA ( 2017 - now )

POSITION(S) : leader, lead dancer, sub rapper, sub vocalist

INDIVIDUAL FANDOM : garden(s)

REPRESENTATIVE EMOJI : 🐬

( 🦀 ) . . . — MISC. TRIVIA !

since sage is the oldest of the five, she naturally tends to act as a motherly figure to the other girls. She often checks on the members to see how they're doing and takes care of them when things are well.

she is known to have a strong intuition and often times, her gut feeling and her intuition turns out to be true.

sage is also a great actor. she made her acting debut in the Korean drama our blues as a character and captured the hearts of many. she has also since then acted in a Korean movie named 20th century girl as the second female lead and in the kdrama crash course in romance as the main female lead's daughter.

she is the type of person who would drop anything and everything for the people she loves. she is said to be one of the many social butterflies in the kpop industry as her friends list is too long.

originally born in the picturesque town of colomar, the parker-han family has moved a several of times and sage has lived in a lot of places that she hopes to visit one day. currently her family lives in the Scottish highlands living a peaceful life with sage in Seoul.

true to her name, eleanor is a true nature lover. she tries to be in nature as much as possible and it's quite easy to spot her on a walk outside on the days where she doesn't have any schedule.

eleanor is also known for her creative ability and her beautiful paintings. after much pressure from fans, she has a seperate instagram page just for her art. rumours say that she and hyunjin of straykids talk for hours long about art.

when oceana did live in the dorms, she used to have a seperate room whereas the other members shared it with eachother. this was the outcome of a intense game of rock paper scissors. the groups go-to decision maker is the said game. now all the five girls live in their own in their apartments but are within 30min distance within eachother.

#‎ ‎ ⋆⠀⠀ʬ.ʬ.⠀⠀٬⠀⠀(⠀⠀&.⠀⠀)⠀...⠀sage.#fake kpop idol #fake kpop gg #fake kpop member #fictional kpop community #fictional idol group #fictional idol soloist #fictional idol oc #fictional idol company #fictional idol addition #fictional kpop idol #fake oc #fictional oc community #kpop original character #kpop incorrect quotes #bighit entertainment

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phantomdoodler · 3 months

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Next NSFW Request Stream will be on February 10th! 1pm-4pm CDT (time conversions in plain text below the cut)

💋 Anonymously submit your requests here. (See "Past Fills" for examples from previous streams.)

💋 Want to tune in live? Subscribe on Picarto to get an alert when I stream. (Since it's 18+, Picarto does require a login if you want to participate in the chat.)

💋 Busy? Results will be posted on Twitter afterwards. (Hopefully on my website one day? We'll see.)

Some series I've been drawing a lot of lately: FE3H, FEA, Hades, honorable mention to Brassius/Hassel

Some series I used to draw a lot of: Persona (1-4), Pokemon (especially RSE/ORAS & XY), Bravely Default, Free!, Yowamushi Pedal

Some series I don't draw enough of: Disco Elysium, Ace Attorney, The Artist Formerly Known as Harvest Moon (Story of Seasons), the Locked Tomb trilogy

Stuff I love whether I know the characters of not: BDSM, threesomes/foursomes/moresomes, monsters, oviposition, yearning, first times, last times, emotionally constipated idiots

AMERICAS

Eastern 2pm | Central 1pm | Mountain NOON | Pacific 11am

EUROPE & AFRICA

Western 6pm | Central 7pm | Eastern 8pm | Moscow 9pm

RUSSIA & ASIA

Dubai 10pm | Islamabad 11pm | Dhaka MIDNIGHT* | Jakarta 1am*

EAST ASIA & OCEANA

Taiwan 3am* | Tokyo 4am* | Brisbane 5am* | Melbourne 6am*

* Times marked with asterisks fall on Sunday, February 11th.

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shouldershimmycity · 2 years

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It's Not Easy Pt. 4 (Bradley Bradshaw x Reader)

Summary: You and Bradley were friends for years before you became more, and had to go through a lot of trials and heartache before that. You were always there for him when he needed you most. This is the story of how you grew to love Bradley, and how he grew to love you in return.

TW: 18+ (ish) (Smut, but I tried to write it in a vague yet descriptive way because I don't normally write smut; that being said it's pretty underwhelming compared to some of the stuff on this website so yeah) Swearing, Suggestion of self pleasure. (That's right, we're getting SPICYYYY). The fluffiest goddamn ending I have ever written.

Friends to Lovers requested by @iefitzgerald-blog

I hope you guys like it, please comment and let me know 🥰 I love reading them.

*****

The smell of blueberry toaster waffles floated into your bedroom, and slowly but surely eyes cracked open and you were making your way into the kitchen where warm morning light filtered in. Bradley was shimmying around the kitchen singing to himself, just in his jeans (which he must have slept in) and seeing him again made you happy. Although things had ended in an unexpected way the night before, you were content; it didn’t feel wrong.

“Y’know, in the entire time that I have both visited and lived here, I don’t think your family has ever not had blueberry toaster waffles in your freezer,” he mused, looking over at you with bright eyes. You could tell he was happy to have you around too.

“What can I say, it’s a staple,” shrugging, you took the plate he handed you, gratefully; and he placed a kiss into your messy bed hair. Smiling softly, the both of you sat to enjoy said breakfast staple. After a short moment of comfortable silence, Bradley spoke up.

“So… North Island,” he asked.

“How’d you know about North Island?” you questioned him, and he answered by tipping his head in the direction of your family’s empty rooms.

“Did you just go out there by yourself?” he sounded concerned, “what made you do that?”

“I didn’t go by myself, Maverick took me out there,” you stated casually, and Bradley stopped chewing for a second.

“Oh,” was all he could think to say.

“I’m still pissed at him for what he did, but that’s not my fight Bradley,” you explained, sighing, “I got you where you wanted to be. Mav has been so alone since we both left, so yes, sue me; I visit him every now and then. If you have a problem with it, I’ll stick you back outside and eat your waffles.” You snagged a bite off his plate, and he picked it up to move it away from you.

“Fine, fine. Yes Ma’am,” he laughed, putting his other hand up.

“Besides, I was actually answering orders,” you defended further, but goodnaturedly.

“From who?” he asked, then it made sense.

“Iceman,” you stated in unison, and Bradley smiled at the mention of his other uncle. He obviously wasn’t as close to him as he had been to Pete, but he respected him immensely.

“He wanted me to pass on our squadron assignment to you,” you shoved the final bite of waffles in your mouth, “The War Party in Oceana.” Bradley looked pleased, then he stopped, looking at you quizzically.

“Our squadron?” he clarified, and confirmed with a head nod.

“Ice kept us together, he said he didn’t want the navy to split us up,” you took his plate from him, and he followed you into the kitchen, “he also expects us both to be top of our classes in Top Gun, by the way.”

When you noticed how quiet he had become you shut the faucet off, and turned your attention to Bradley.

“I’m glad I get to stay with you,” he whispered, and you crossed the room to wrap him in a hug, and he kissed your forehead gently.

*****

Falling into your relationship with Bradley wasn’t hard. It was actually the easiest thing ever, and you both kicked yourselves for wasting all that time thinking it would be. There was no awkward stage of trying to get comfortable with each other, Bradley was surprisingly affectionate so you didn’t need to work towards that, and you knew so much about each other already. You just fit in with each other.

Opting to keep it a relative secret from your family at first (because you knew your mom would go batshit and assume you and him had been canoodling this whole time) you were happy in the privacy you and Bradley had. The only other person who knew was Mav, who was happy for you both; but of course he didn’t intrude on your life let alone your relationship.

Your introduction into the Golden Warriors that summer was smooth, and you and Bradley quickly became acquainted with the members.

Six months later, when a few of those members decided to go out for a few drinks, one of them began to talk about their… exploits.

He was going on and on about how many women he had slept with (and how many husbands he had angered) when he turned his attention towards you and Bradley; both of you were too sober to like his antics, having opted to forgo alcohol.

“I’d like to make Bradshaw one of those angry men, Knuckles,” Lieutenant Marshall winked, and you didn’t bat an eye. Neither did Bradley. When he strutted up to you and Rooster, he asked why he wasn’t coming to your rescue; to be your knight in shining armor. He was picking a fight, but he was picking it with the wrong person in the pair.

“You know why we call her Knuckles, right?” he deadpanned, and Marshall looked a little taken aback, “I’ve been on the receiving end, and I do not recommend,” he warned, remembering how you nailed him between his eyes months ago.

That was enough for him to back off, and you decided to leave; having grown uncomfortable with the atmosphere.

You and Bradley found yourself in a little diner you both frequented, a short distance from his old house, which you had both moved into. It was actually more for work convenience, but neither of you minded. He made a whole show of asking you to move in with him.

“Would you like to live with me?”

“We’ve lived together for the past few years, Bradley.”

“I mean at my old house.”

Of course, you smiled and accepted.

Bradley was quietly running his finger up and down your wrist, trying in vain to read your mind.

“Talk to me, Knucks,” he whispered, and you shrugged, not really sure what to say.

“He made me uncomfortable is all,” you reassured him, but he didn’t back down just yet. You had been a little off lately, and Bradley wasn’t sure why. He didn’t like to see you that way.

“No, what’s really going on?” he pushed gently, and you sighed.

“Alright.. I, uhm..” you fiddled with the straw wrapper, “I’ve been worried about… doing things… with you.”

“Why? Have I done something to make you worry?” he asked, wanting to understand. He knew you were referring to sex, but he never thought he had pressured you in any way.

“No, no! You haven’t done anything… It’s actually more… It’s more of what I, uhm… haven’t done,” you muttered.

“You’re still a virgin?!” he coughed, trying not to choke on his beverage, and you couldn’t help but blush at Bradley’s surprise.

“Uhm.. yeah?” you asked him, getting a bit defensive when the waitress behind the counter glanced over.

“No, it’s not bad, it– it’s just I never thought about it before I guess..” his face was incredibly red too.

“What? You never noticed that I never liked any other boys or went on any dates? Who did you think I was having sex with?” you laughed, and he shrugged sheepishly.

“I don’t know, I guess I never questioned it? I assumed that mayb- maybe you had a fling or something at the academy?” he was tripping over his words, and it made you laugh.

“No, Bradley, I did not have a ‘fling’ at the academy,” you cleared up, smiling at him, “I mean it’s a relatively special thing for girls, y’know. Sometimes girls just want sex, and that’s fine, but mostly I wanted to wait for the right person. Besides, it’s not like I’ve never done anything myself–”

As soon as you said the words you regretted them slightly, and Bradley smirked a little when he caught what you meant. You shrugged your shoulders as if it wasn’t that big of a deal, trying to avoid the inevitable teasing.

“What kinds of things?” he asked, a shit eating grin appearing behind his mustache.

“What do you think? Bradley?” your eyes met his. You had meant for it to come out in a “fuck you” tone, but the way it fell from your lips was not at all close. Bradley licked his lips a little, and your eyes flicked down when he bit his lip to keep his grin from growing.

“What do you think about? When you do it?” he asked quietly, honestly wanting an answer. The way your own eyes gazed back into his told him what he needed to know, and you could cut the tension between the two of you with a knife.

Him, of course.

The waitress was back, and you damn near jumped out of your skin when she piped up from behind you.

“Okay!” she began, “I have the burger for you, and the reuben sandwich for you!” she placed both orders down in front of their respective recipients, and you squeaked out a quiet thank you as she did.

You took the opportunity to change the subject, ignoring the way he made you squirm when you found him staring at you. Dreading the car ride back to the house, you twiddled your thumbs quietly in the passenger seat.

“You know I would never make you do anything if you didn’t want it or weren’t ready for it right?” Bradley spoke up after five minutes of uncomfortable silence, “I was only teasing, and I don’t want you to spend the next fifteen minutes thinking I’m expecting something when we get home,” as soon as the words left his mouth you breathed a sigh of relief. In everything else, you were so comfortable with Bradley, but this was just a hard step. It made you nervous.

“It’s okay, Bradley,” you assured him, “I’m just a little… embarrassed is all.”

“Being a virgin is nothing to be embarrassed about,” he reassured, and that got you thinking.

“Wait a minute,” you started, putting your thoughts together in your head, “When did you lose your virginity?” Raising an eyebrow, you squinted at him, and now it was his turn to be put under the microscope. When Bradley turned a shade lighter than a Rhode Island Red, you laughed out loud.

“Oh my God! It was her wasn’t it?! Did you lose it your sophomore year?” you all but shrieked, and Bradley nervously laughed.

Sophomore year, he had taken a mutual friend of yours to the homecoming dance. He had a small crush on her at the time and she was down bad for him. Bradley had been suspiciously frugal on the details when you had returned from your vacation, having been unable to attend the dance. At the time, you had assumed that they had sex; but as your own attraction grew it was pushed out of your mind due to jealousy.

“No, uh, it wasn’t,” he corrected, and you recalculated your guess.

“You had a fling then? During college?” you asked, surprised and somewhat hurt. During that time you and Bradley had been closer than friends but not quite an item. Could you really feel that way if he wasn’t yours at that point?

“What? No,” he was firm in his answer, and your worry flitted away as the two of you pulled up to a red light.

“Then when?” you gave up, surprised that you didn’t know.

It was now his turn to look into your eyes, and you put two and two together slowly. Your lips parted and your breathing was heavier now.

“Oh,” you whispered.

“I mean… We did stuff after homecoming but, not, y’know,” he said quietly, “after that, I kinda realized the only person for me was you, and I just… never did it,” he trailed off.

A car horn honking broke the silence between you two and the bronco lurched forward as Bradley began driving again, through the now green light.

“I’m sorry… if I made it seem–”

“Don’t be sorry, now you know and like you said, it’s not a big deal,” he answered, shrugging at you and smiling. On the way back to his house, you thought about all the times you had been alone in your bed at night; and thought about Bradley alone in his.

Thinking of you.

*****

A week later, you and Bradley had another free day. You had been busting your butt for the past couple days, and Bradley was going off on a short mission in a few days. The two of you decided to make the most of your free day.

You and Bradley went to get breakfast from a little bakery just down the road, and got some yard work done around the house. It was a relatively pleasant day for winter, and the two of you ended up sweating your asses off.

When you were done, you headed into the house to shower while Bradley cleaned up the branches you had removed from Caroles old garden. You and him had plans to replant it for her soon. When he came into the bedroom after his shower, he wore only a towel that hung on his hips. He smiled at you, with your wet hair and your own towel wrapped around your body.

Before you could overthink it, you had gotten off the bed and pulled Bradley down to you and into a kiss. He eagerly reciprocated, pulling you into him. You pulled his hand up to the place where the towel was tucked at your breasts, and he pulled away from the kiss, breathing heavily.

“Are you sure?” his eyes looked so deeply into yours that you wanted to look away, but all you could do was nod your head, his fingers moving against your jawline as you did.

“We can take it slow, just tell me if you want me to stop, okay?” he spoke gently, and you leaned up to kiss him once more. He pulled your cover away, pulling you close to him one more and you could feel him through his own towel.

He was so gentle with you, and you had never felt so loved in your entire life. The both of you were afraid to take that next step with the other, but once you did you were elated. You were made for each other, and the way he made you feel was indescribable. Finally being with him in a way that you both had craved for so long was all the more satisfying. It wasn’t bumpy or awkward because you were familiar, and getting to know each other’s bodies was only a small, new part of that familiarity.

It was something you would remember for a long time, the way his hands brushed down your bare body, causing you to shiver. How his tongue pressed against the sensitive parts of your chest, lips caressing them gently, and how he had kissed his way lower. Bradley took his responsibility as your first very seriously, even though you were his, too; and made absolutely sure you felt pleasure that filled your whole body in a way that left you breathless.

He had gone slow at first, not wanting to hurt you, and when you were finally joined at the waist, he ran his fingers through your hair; removing the pieces that clung to your face from the sweat and the water that still remained. It was a new sensation but addictive all the same, and asking him to move, you had pursed your lips to contain the sounds you were afraid to make. Whimpering from the delicate pace he set, he lifted his head from where he had been kissing your neck and Bradley’s thumb had come up to your lips, begging to hear from you; and you obliged. Softly, sounds of pleasure and whispers of each other's name fell off both of your lips.

Sweat dripped from his brow onto your chest, which was red with heat and you begged him to touch you. He sat up onto his knees, bringing one hand to rest on your waist. When Bradley ran his fingers over the spot you had waited for him to touch for so long, you gripped the arm that rested on your hip, and when you broke, he would mentally replay the sounds you made like he needed them to live. Your other hand came to rest over his where he touched you, holding him to you while you cried out. Frequently, you would find yourself thinking back to the look of pure bliss he had on his face before he pressed his head into your shoulder, crying out your name over and over; once the friction had built to the point where it was just enough to send him into the release you had enjoyed before him. When he lifted his head, his eyes were full of overwhelming delight.

When you ran your fingers across his lips, featherlight, later in the evening; he hummed, closing his eyes and kissing the tips of your digits lightly. The sun was setting, casting a bright orange glow across your face, and Bradley admired the way it made your eyes illuminate.

“You know, for someone who was a virgin a few hours ago, you sure knew what you were doing,” you chuckled before you could finish the sentence, the laugh coming from deep in your throat. Bradley pulled you in closer against his bare chest, kissing into your hair over and over and you settled into his body, feeling safe there.

“Well, I’m not gonna lie. Sophomore year I found a stash of dirty magazines in Mav’s house and I noted a thing or two,” he winked and you sat up, your legs folded underneath you and your hair falling around your face; Bradley tucking it behind your ear.

“Bradley?” you asked, squinting, and he raised his eyes to yours in response, “I will pay you to never mention that to me again, ever,” you were, once again, wheezing before you could get all the words out.

Sitting up against the headboard he leaned in to kiss you, something you gladly returned; smiling into the kiss. He pulled you over so that you were straddling his waist, and you cheekily ground your hips against him; agreeing with his body, which you had quickly realized was begging to go for a third time that day. The noise that came from his throat was half growl and half laugh, and you winked at him.

You could stay there forever, and if you had the chance you would happily take it.

*****

"Waffles!" Bradley was calling after the small golden retriever puppy that was lolloping through the warm grass, and having the time of his life. It was the next summer, and you and Bradley had decided to adopt a puppy when one of your squadron members was fostering.

You watched Bradley from the back porch, as he got down on the ground to pat the dog's tummy.

"He loves you, boy let me tell you what," you laughed as his little tongue flopped out from his mouth and his teeny tail beat against the ground.

"I know but he's just so cute," he cooed, and you frowned.

"Are you leaving me for the dog?" you asked, cracking from your fake sadness with a tiny laugh.

"Maybe?" he smirked and you put your hand to your chest dramatically.

"Bradley!" you gasped, and he scooped up the dog and made his way over to you.

"Can't I keep you both?" he asked, leaning in for a kiss.

"Hmmm, maybe," you mused, standing to head into the kitchen, "at least I won't pee on you, Bradshaw," you laughed, stepping back into the house and leaving him on the porch.

You assumed Bradley looked down to see his jeans now wet from the puppy, because you heard him cry out in surprise. Not two seconds later, Waffles moseyed on into the house. You were just proud that he went potty outside.

*****

It wasn’t until a few years later that you ended up back in San Diego, and having to leave Bradley for a few months was hard but not unheard of. You weren’t separated by squadrons, but deployments were a necessary part of life and you had dealt with it before. Bradley would be in the following Top Gun class.

There, you were a personal guest of Iceman at a few events outside of the weapons school. While it was fun, and a very generous gesture, it made you the target from some of your classmates. You didn’t care, you had brought Bradley back in touch with Ice, and he was once again, grateful to you. Besides, your flying proved your worth more than an invitation from an Admiral ever would.

Then came a day that would be full of surprises.

First, you had been called up for an in air exercise. Everyone who came down previously had done so within a short period of time, complaining about the exercise. Each exercise was kept secret until in the air, to keep the students on their toes; so no one could share what everyone was so angry about.

Pulling in to your left, you spoke over the radio to your wingman for the day, “Poker, do you see anything out there? I got nothing.”

“I don’t see anything Knucks,” he said, then excitedly, “Wait– tally two, one o’clock moving west bound.” The both of you whooped on the radio, beginning to pursue the aircraft.

“Good morning, Aviators. I’m here to collect my coupon for one dogfight, if you please, Knuckles,” Maverick’s voice chimed in over the radio, and you couldn’t help the laugh that filled the canopy. Of course. That’s why everyone was pissed, no one could beat Maverick.

Except you.

“Awww, Mav. Did you come out here just for me?” you asked sweetly, and you could hear the older man actually giggling over the radio, “You got yourself a deal, Mav. Fight’s on!”

What ensued was a wild chase through the air, both you and Poker against Mav and your instructor. You were constantly engaged with Mav, Poker making no attempt to interfere; opting to go for the other bogey instead.

Somehow, within a few minutes Mav was behind you. Bringing yourself every which way to avoid his weapons systems, you pulled high right, and brought yourself down behind him. You got a missile lock on him just before your own instructor took you out.

“What the fuck?” Mav’s laugh was shocked, and you were wheezing from your own seat.

“She got you good, Mav. I’m impressed,” your instructor pulled up alongside you, giving you a thumbs up.

“I want a rematch,” he proclaimed, and you just laughed harder.

“No take backsies,” you said, absolutely sputtering with giggles.

“No take backsies?” he yelled, incredulous.

You had far too much fun kicking Maverick’s ass in the sky, and when you came down for the day, you gave him a big hug.

Second, before you realized it, the sun had gone down, and the sky was painted with all sorts of colors. You and Mav sat in Ice’s office, chatting away when your instructor came in.

“Lieutenant, there is something I would like to address with you in Hangar B,” he stated. That was a little odd, it was past training hours. You had been hoping to go home and change out of your flight suit, but Maverick and Ice volunteered to walk with you; and everyone continued bullshitting with each other along the way.

The large hangar door was cracked open ever so slightly, and when you squeezed through, the two older gentlemen stayed behind. When you gestured for them to follow, Mav said they were going to wait outside.

Alright, whatever.

You followed your instructor's footsteps through the dark, and suddenly they stopped. You had no idea where he had gone and you stood to the side of the room, outlines of old aircraft hulking in the dark. One loomed next to you while you attempted to focus your eyes.

“Uhh, Commander Grey?” you asked, “I can’t see anything, are there lights? I’ve never been in this hangar.”

The lights flicked on, and a soft warm glow filled the large building as opposed to the industrial fluorescent lights that usually hung from above. You looked around, mesmerized by the many fairy lights that had been meticulously hung around the building. Three pairs of planes filled the room, one pair of F-4s, a pair of A-4s, and of course, F-14s. Smiling up at the old airplane, you looked around at the vintage navy memorabilia from the sixties and seventies that hung on the walls; taking it all in, slowly turning and spinning into the center of the room, when you noticed you were being watched. Your eyes flicked down to the man standing about twenty feet away from you, in the center of the hangar and of course you smiled because how could you not?

The boy you loved, who was all grown up now, stood there in his dress whites. He had always looked good in his whites, but he looked extra sharp on this particular day. His hair was neatly trimmed, he was freshly shaved save for his mustache.

“Bradley,” you smiled, happier than ever to see him. You could see the shine in his eyes from where you stood, and you began to cross the floor to him. That’s when it all clicked together for you: the lights, the set up, the uniform. It was a special occasion. Bradley took a deep breath and spoke up, making his way over to meet you; hands and lips trembling.

“Hey,” he said, grinning while wiping the tears that had spilled over onto your cheeks, and you laughed lightly seeing the tears in his own eyes.

“I haven’t been around to tell you how much I love you in a while, and that’s just a crime. Because I need you to know that I do. I’ve loved you since the first day of fourth grade,” he choked on his words, and swallowed before addressing you with your full name, middle and everything.

“You are the most amazing person I have ever had the privilege to meet in this life, and I wouldn't trade you for anything. You've always been the backbone of our friendship and you've always kept me in check when I needed it most. You have always been such a light in my life and if you’ll allow me, I’d like to spend the rest of my life loving you in every way you could possibly be loved and every way you deserve; I want to be that someone in your corner,” he wiped one more tear from your cheek and of course, he knelt to the ground on one knee, with his heart on display, “Will you marry me?”

You were both a blubbering mess, and if you didn’t know what a proposal was you might have asked him to repeat himself; he was so emotional the strangled question was hard to understand. You understood him just perfectly, though, and you fell to your knees, nodding fervently. Unable to speak from the way your throat tightened, you kissed him, bringing his face into your hands tenderly.

The both of you held each other, calming yourselves from all the emotion of the moment when Bradley pulled away. He helped you stand, pulling out an old box from his pocket, opening it to reveal Carole’s old ring; and of course you cried more.

“She told me to only give this to you… she knew… all those years ago and she knew” he whispered, pushing it gently onto your finger. It fit perfectly, just like you and Bradley.

Looking at the ring, the gold glinting in the soft light, you sniffled, and Bradley pulled you in once more for a hug and kissed the side of your forehead lovingly.

That ring would remain on your finger for a few hours, until you put it on a chain for safe keeping whenever you flew. Bradley would grow to fiddle with it when laying in bed with you throughout your life, and you would play with the gold ring on his own chain in return.

Years would pass before Mav was brought back into Bradley's life, but you would help him back just as you had Ice.

You would meet new friends, and lose some. Although terrifying at first, you and Bradley would have children; who would run around the yard and play with Waffles.

You had never expected your life would end up this way, this perfect, but here you were; and all because you had gotten pushed off the monkey bars in the fourth grade.

It’s not easy falling in love, but when the right person finds you it’s worth it.

*****

Tag List: @seriouslyseresin @rintheemolion @auggie2000 @wishingwell-2 @luckyladycreator2 @lets-be-gay-for-the-angel @multiple-fandoms-girl @gretagerwigsmuse @fandom-life-12 @strawbxrrybuxky

#rooster top gun #bradley bradshaw #rooster x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #topgunmaverick #top gun #rooster #top gun x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw #maverick

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gamergirlshelby · 6 months

Text

Alright I just finished Chapter 1 of Rejuvenation 13.5 and I have many thoughts I want to ramble about.

I want to note that I have done 100% playthrough of version 13.0 a few months after it had initially released, so although my memory is a bit rusty, I will be talking a bit about some of the changes between the versions (i want to note that they're all positive imo)

Also should note that be wary of spoilers for new content for 13.5 as well as spoilers for story stuff since I want to talk about how good the writing in this game is. I've taken a lot of screenshots and will be adding them when i think they fit in my little rambles and stuff.

Without further ado my ramblings are under the read more!

To start things off I wanna just gloss over the beginning scene with Maria and the prologue on the SS Oceana. From what I can remember nothing really changed between those two sections but honestly I think they are as close to perfect if not as perfect as they can be. They give just the right amount of information to set up some of the first main mysteries and plot threads, and I think they do amazingly at setting the tone for the game.

Next I want to talk about how East Gearen has changed, having made some small adjustments to the city to help make traveling through it all the more easier. I'm happy that the changes were minimal enough that walking through the city I still knew where everything was, so everything felt familiar but it had been different enough where seeing everything game me the same sort of wonder and comfort that it had in my first playthroughs.

I think the biggest changes being to the designs for the Gearen lab and the Gearen Help Center (I haven't made it to Sheridan yet so I'm not sure if all of the help centers have been changed to be the same sort of layout, or if they all have a unique sort of look to them). The only change I'm not the biggest fan of is the starters all being lined up in rows as shown above. It definitely makes choosing the starter easier since they're all in one space, but having them all in their own little enclosures had this quaint sort of feeling to it. Still I do think that it was a good change overall, it just doesn't pander to me specifically.

Next change that I want to point out is the ability to take on quests right when you see the npc and not needing to go to the help center. Overall I think everything about quests has been changed to be much easier and more streamlined. The little quest notification does a lot in making finding the details for quests and even just finding quests a lot easier. Overall I'm a big fan.

I also adore the additions of finding some relevant story npcs out in the world outside of big story events and areas. It just adds so much to the world and helps make the world feel more alive, like its really worth saving. Whether its just small dialogue that doesn't impact anything, a conversation that can build up on your relationships with characters, or even having a quick battle, I love these small changes.

Next on the list is the completely new content, with the most notable being Mr. Luck's tent. I'm gonna be honest I am a big fan of him, I love this character archetype of just these mischievous tricksters (probably a more common term for this trope but. y'know the sort of characters I'm probably thinking of) Honestly the whole quest introducing Prism Pokemon was very fun! Melia also explains them later on during the Goldenwood Forest section with the fight with the Prism Nidorino, but I think being able to learn about it early through the quest is fun. Also I am just a huge fan of the contracts and items you can trade in. I'm gonna save a bit though for some of the more expensive items though, at least for now. If I can find a way to grind for the Black Prisms easily I'll probably grind for that ??? contract, but I have no idea what it could be (also 999 is a lot,,,).

Next up I want to talk about the update to Venam's gym! It definitely feels a lot more her than the last one, but I do think there was a bit of charm to the idea that she didn't really get a say in what her gym was like, to the point she made a gym grave yard to help preserve those old gyms. The factory is still there and I'm gonna be honest I kinda just walked there first when it was time to challenge Venam and I was very confused-- Not complaining just a silly thing I thought I'd mention.

Next I want to talk about the Zygarde quest. I think introducing it during the main story instead of pushing it to the side in the help center was a smart move, but I did not realize who Ayuda was at first when I saw him in Venam's gym. I'm gonna be honest though, I don't see myself going out of my way to work on completing the Zygarde quest this playthrough, mostly just cause I'm not the biggest Zygarde fan, but also its just very tedious to look for all of them.

Next I wanna talk about the Goldenwood Forest Section and I just. Wow I think how it was reworked was phenomenal. First I absolutely ADORE how instead of having it be a cutscene you can help out everyone in Goldenwood made the trip feel a lot more impactful. I adored that original cutscene but honestly I think having a few quick quests to help everyone in the area made what was once gonna be one of the best days ever into the worst day ever feel a lot more... real if that makes sense, telling a story through gameplay and not just cutscenes, something Rejuvenation never had a problem with, but I'm glad they made the change here.

Also the fishing quest. Oh my goodness the fishing quest. The mechanical Lairon encounter hinting towards the future mechanical Pokemon you have to fight later on even more intense cause like. This rusty old one can give you trouble if you're not prepared for it, and and the fully functional mechanical Pokemon found later on in the game can be pretty rough, especially since there are so many of them in some sections like in the pearl route of chapter 15. That said there was something really funny to me about the idea of this fisherman having the hardest time trying to get a Magikarp haha.

Next I love the information Melia gives about the mural, how she talks about how the squares couldn't be buildings, since the Garufans hadn't been very technologically advanced. Honestly there being so many differing interpretations for the Garufans and how they handled things is so cool to me, cause I feel like its just like how people who research ancient civilizations are in real life, especially when there isn't a lot of information available. This might be partly because I have this stuff on my mind because I am taking a World Civilizations class rn for my college classes. Karen talking about in the Missing Starly quest that the Garufa were a nomadic tribe that harvested the powers from Pokemon's souls to be able to cast magic. Then in the Hidden Library quest we learn that they hated Pokemon, seeing them as vile pests. Even the idea that their technology was undeveloped is something that gets disproved later on in the story. I just find it fascinating that nobody can seem to agree on what the Garufa were like. I may be pulling at straws here though I just think its cool.

Next is the whole redesign for the Silent Grove. First I think the name itself is new but tbh I may just be forgetting and I don't feel like looking up an old playthrough to check (tbh thats just me being lazy tho). I personally was a big fan of the grove being a small secluded area, but I think the big castle builds on the lore that was first established in the Goomy Kingdom quest, that being what the world was like all the way back before the calamity decades ago, and showing that there where even more castles. Also it just makes more sense that this would lead to the secret Garufa settlement that we explore in the Pearl Route for Chapter 15. Also I love the new statue design being based on the Ranger sprite for Arceus.

Lastly I just wanted to say I think the battle with Zetta being changed to take place in a crater instead of the lake front just makes sense. It didn't make sense to me that the park had been closed off for so long after the Rift Gyrados was dealt with. I know it's because the Gyrados wasn't completely gotten rid of, but before it was just overgrown, but still manageable. This level of damage I could see needing to have a full quest line repairing.

Anyways that's it for my thoughts on Chapter 1 and the Prologue for version 13.5 of Rejuvenation. Hope you enjoyed my rambles and thank you again for reading all of them :D

#pokemon rejuvenation #long post #pokemon rejuvenation 13.5 spoilers #pokemon rejuvenation spoilers #pokemon fangames #this game is so good guys i will shill for it forever please if you havent played it please do and also please talk to me about it #honestly id love to have some more people to talk to about this game this game just makes me so happy to talk about and make fan stuff for #if you have anything to add or talk about relating to the stuff i talked about here i'd love to hear it!#i'll probably end up doing more posts like this it was very fun!

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