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“Close your eyes.”
Jake huffs, raised an eyebrow at Bradley. He's in the passenger seat of Bradley’s bronco, sitting sideways with Bradley standing in the open doorway.
Bradley grabs Jake by the hands, tugging him out a bit. “It'll ruin the surprise, just do it.”
Jake rolls his eyes before giving in. “Fine.”
Bradley beams, squeezing his hands. Jake thinks it's worth it, if he gets to see Bradley all happy like that.
Jake climbs out of the car, careful to avoid his eyes away from the so-called ‘surprise’ in front of the bronco.
A hand appears on the small of his back, the other cradling his own more softly than before. Bradley's chest bumps against the back of his arm, Jake feels the light tickle of Bradley's breath on his neck.
“I swear to god if you let me trip.” He trails off, mumbling mostly to himself.
Bradley chuckles, low and rough in his ear. Jake ignored him for fear of his own sanity.
Finally they stop after what feels like hours.
Jake takes a deep breath. He thinks for a moment, thinking about how the hell he got here. Bradley had shown up at his door in the late evening.
He'd brought flowers, a bouquet filled with bright red roses. Currently, they're in a vase on his kitchen table, and yeah, maybe he took one with him when he got changed to put on his nightstand but it's not like anyone will see it.
Bradley said he was going to take Jake somewhere. Jake, albeit hesitantly, went along with Bradley, trying to push down the bubbling anxiety in his stomach. He’d barely remembered the drive there, solely focused on the man beside him. There’s a blur of going uphill, a thick forest surrounding the gravel path they traveled only minutes ago.
“Ready?” Bradley whispers in his ear.
“As I'll ever be.” Jake says with a long sigh.
“1,” Bradley's hand trails up his spine, sliding around to rest on his torso. “2,” he can feel Bradley move around him, hovering right behind him, both arms coming to circle his waist to hold him against Bradley delicately. “3.”
Jake opens his eyes. It takes him a second to adjust, the sunlight is almost directly in front of him. They’re in a secluded clearing, a cliff that overlooks the town below. When he looks down he sees a red and white checkered picnic blanket spread out wide in the ground. On the far corner is a large wicker basket, a crisp golden brown.
Jake inhaled sharply, gripping Bradley's forearms from where they're snug around him. He can feel Bradley smile against his neck, the light scratch of his mustache on his skin with a delicate kiss he's left there.
Jake struggles till Bradley loosens his arms and turns himself around till he’s nose to nose with Bradley. He smiles, a giddy feeling filling his lungs.
“You didn't.” Jake breaths out.
Bradley laughs, squeezing him a bit tighter and walking Jake backwards a couple steps. “Oh, I did.”
Bradley lets him go and sits down on the blanket. Jake bites his lip to try and suppress his increasingly dopey grin. He plops down next to Bradley, their knees press together.
The top of the basket flips open revealing a plethora of food and drink. Bradley pulls each item out one by one, laying them out in front of Jake.
“Alright, so we hav-”
“Oh my fucking god are those the girl scout cookies I love?” Jake nearly face-plant’s reaching for them.
Bradley snorts as Jake practically rips the box open. He stops pulling things out for the time being, content with watching Jake shove two cookies in his mouth.
“Holy shit those are so good.” He mumbles, waiting to finish chewing before asking the millions of questions he has. “How the hell did you get these, they aren’t even in season yet.”
Bradley just shrugs with a smirk on his face and takes the box from his hands. “I may or may not have contacted the big leagues to find out their manufacturer to get like a shit ton.”
Jake’s eyes widen, his jaw nearly drops. “You have more?”
Bradley rolls his eyes with a fond smile on his face. “For later.”
Jake grumbles but doesn’t say anymore, turning his attention to the layout in front of him.
Along with the cookies, there’s a tupperware of chocolate covered strawberries, a packet of twizzlers, a mini vanilla cake with little frosting flowers around the edges and a case of Jake’s favorite beer.
Of course Bradley remembered about the one time Jake had told him about his extreme sweet-tooth.
There’s only one thing that’s bugging him.
Bradley must notice his silence. He bumps his knees against Jake’s. “What’s wrong? Oh shit did I forget something? Hold on let m-”
Jake grabs Bradley’s hand before he can get up. “No, no no, everything’s perfect. I guess I just don’t get… why ?”
Bradley sighs, smiling softly as he brings Jake’s hand to his lips. A warm kiss meets his knuckles, Bradley looks up at him through his lashes.
He cocks his head to the side, his smile turning playful. “Am I not allowed to spoil someone I like?”
Jake smirks despite the flush on his cheeks. “So I’m someone you like now?”
Bradley laughs, lifting up to tower over him. He leans in, his face only inches from Jake’s. Jake feels the ghost of Bradley’s lips. He closes his eyes, anticipation swirling in his stomach. That is, until something cold is being pressed to his mouth.
He opens his eyes to find Bradley smiling down at him, a chocolate strawberry in his hand. “Shut up and eat your gift, Seresin.”
Jake stares at him wide eyed, disbelieving at the audacity of the man before him. He takes the strawberry between his teeth, bite after bite until he’s nearly licking Bradley’s finger tips.
Sitting back, he almost snorts at the look on Bradley’s face, wide eyed and mouth agape. He hums as he finally realizes the taste of the dessert.
“Where did you get those?” He asks, raising a hand to cover his mouth.
Bradley snaps out of his daze, settling in next to him and taking two cans of beer out for them.
“I made them, why? I didn’t have time to taste them beforehand so they might taste like shit.” He says, opening a can for Jake and passing it to him.
“You made them?” Jake exclaims, taking the beer from Bradley and grabbing another strawberry. “They taste like the gourmet stuff you get at fancy parties and the like.”
Bradley rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his beer.
“I’m serious, they’re really good.”
Bradley smiles, even if he still looks a little skeptical.
As the night goes on, the food disappears slowly and trash is put away till they get back. Somehow, Bradley’s head ends up in Jake’s lap.
Jake gazes out at the horizon, the setting sun only just resting above the treeline. His hand combs through soft brown curls leisurely, running his blunt nails along Bradley’s scalp gently. Before Jake knows it, Bradley’s face is a short distance away from his own.
The gentle sunlight makes his short eyelashes shine, it makes his golden skin glow.
He’s beautiful.
Suddenly, deep brown stares up at him. Neither move, a breeze rustles the trees behind, sounding off a symphony of leaves.
“We- uh we should probably get going. I have one more thing for you.” Bradley gets out, his eyes flicking to Jake’s lips.
Jake hums, leaning in and very clearly not listening. A brief kiss turns hot, a gentle slide of tongue against the seam of Bradley’s mouth.
Eventually, Bradley pulls back, settling back onto Jake to catch his breath. Then he stands up, helping Jake up and placing everything back into the basket. Jake folds up the blanket once all the stuff is off, carrying it to the trunk of the bronco.
And just like that they're on the road again.
As they pull up to Jake's driveway, he can already tell something is different. Maybe it’s Bradley, his demeanor suddenly shifting to something more quietly, almost nervous, or maybe it’s just his gut but something is off.
Bradley opens his car door for him, walks him to his front door, waits beside him as he fishes out his key and unlocks the door.
“Do you want to come in?” Jake asks, holding the door open for Bradley to step through. He does without a word.
Jake toes his shoes off, shuffles them to the side and trudges a little further into his apartment expecting Bradley to follow. When Jake realizes he’s not, he turns.
“Okay over there, Roo?” He walks forward, his eyebrows furrowing.
Bradley swallows, nods and shifts his feet while looking anywhere but Jake.
Jake stops when he’s in front of Bradley, only a step or two distance between them.
Two hands cup his cheeks, pulling him till the space is closed and Bradley’s lips are on his. Jake knows this kiss is different, so much more different than the others they’ve shared. It’s short but so filled with something. Something Jake’s too scared to put a name on in fear that he’s wrong.
Bradley pulls back not a second later.
“I love you.”
Jake freezes. He feels his heart stop, his lungs squeeze for air that he can’t get.
“You love me.” Jake repeats quietly.
Bradley sighs, a soft but determined look on his face.
“I love you.”
Jake lets it marinate for a moment. He loves me. He loves me.
Bradley loves m-
Then they’re kissing again, Jake pouring all his adoration into it. Bradley’s warm and pliant against him, so achingly tender it breaks Jake’s heart.
Jake pulls back after a long while. “So what? This whole picnic thing was to try and woo me.” He says, trying to keep a serious face but ultimately failing. Bradley smirks and shrugs.
“Maybe a little bit.” He says,
“I love you. God I love you so much.”
Bradley giggles, resting his forehead against Jake’s. He’s beaming, almost as bright as the sun, kissing all over Jake’s face till he’s laughing too.
Jake wraps his arms around Bradley’s waist, tugging him in until their chest to chest, Jake’s face tucked beneath his chin. Bradley’s hand runs down the length of his back, the other cupping the back of his head.
Bradley clears his throat over dramatically, grabbing Jake by the shoulder to look him in the eye.
“Jake Hangman Seresin,” He takes a second to deadpan his face. Jake snorts, getting a light swat on the arm from Bradley. “Don’t laugh, I'm being serious.”
Jake hums in agreement. “Totally, very serious.” Then Bradley laughs, his head falling to rest against Jake’s collarbone as he heaves from his silent laughter.
“Bradley Rooster Bradshaw, will you be my boyfriend?”
Bradley pulls back abruptly, looking incredibly offended. “No, come on, I wanted to ask first.”
Jake just smiles and shrugs. “Snooze ya’ lose.”
Bradley shakes his head, mumbling ‘of course you would say something stupid like that’.
“Fine, you ask then.” Jake says, tighten his grips slightly on Bradley’s waist.
Bradley takes a deep breath, bringing both his hands up to hold Jake’s face between his palms.
“Jake, will you be my boyfriend?”
Jake smiles, leaning in for a quick kiss.
“Yes,” He exhales. “A million times yes.”