Work Text:
"Where are you guys going to spend Christmas?" Natasha asks the group.
Everyone is at Hard Deck after a week of work, which has already become a tradition.
"I'm going home." That's what Fanboy, Payback, Bob, and Javy say.
Everyone looks at Rooster and Hangman waiting for them to say something since they were the only ones who didn't answer.
"I don't know," Rooster replies with a shrug.
"Aren't you going to spend it with Maverick?" Natasha asks confused.
Bradley and Maverick's relationship had been going really well since Maverick explained why he took Bradley's papers. At first, they still seemed to be walking on eggshells around each other, but they soon returned to having a fatherly relationship, which didn't make sense with Bradley's response.
"He's going to travel with Penny and Amelia, they invited me but I said no, I prefer to stay at home." Rooster responds.
"Well, you can come with me." Natasha invites.
"Thanks, but like I said, I'd rather stay home." Rooster says, Natasha watches him for a little longer wanting to make sure he's being honest, when she sees that he is, she turns her attention to Hangman.
"And you, Hangman, do you have any plans?" Natasha asks.
"I'm going to stay home, order a pizza and watch a movie." Hangman replies.
"The invitation to go with me is still open," Javy reminds him.
"Thanks, but I'll pass this time." Hangman says with a small smile.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Really sure?"
"Yes."
"Can I have this in writing?"
"Javy..." Hangman looks exasperated at his best friend.
"Okay! It's just that you know my mom will have something to say about this, I want proof that it was you who said no, otherwise she won't believe it." Javy shrugs, Hangman laughs.
"I'll send a letter." Hangman says.
"Done."
"What just happened?" Fanboy asks as confused as everyone else since this whole conversation happened in less than 10 seconds.
Coyote and Hangman laugh together and simply change the subject. They continue talking and drinking, until they decide to call it a night, everyone closes their tabs and heads to their cars.
After closing his, Rooster goes out and sees Hangman still outside.
"Something wrong with your car? Want a ride?" Rooster offers.
"No, I'm just waiting for Javy who went to the bathroom, but thanks." Hangman smiles.
Rooster nods and was about to open his mouth to say goodbye, but then he remembers the conversation about Christmas and before he can think twice, he's offering:
"You know, on Christmas Eve, if you want to spend it with me at my house, I think that would be nice."
"I thought you wanted to be alone." Hangman comments confused.
"No, I said I wanted to spend at home, not alone. Do you want to come? We can order pizza, have some beers, I promise to be good company." Rooster says.
Hangman thinks for a moment.
"Okay, that might be cool. That'll get Javy off my ass." Hangman jokes and Rooster laughs.
"Okay, see you later." He says goodbye.
"See you later."
*
When the 24th arrives, Rooster is nervous. He doesn't understand why. It's just pizza and beer with Hangman, his newest friend who was once his rival and whom Rooster finds attractive; there's no reason to stress.
At 7PM, the time they agreed, the doorbell rings, Rooster goes to open it and sees Hangman holding a case of beer.
"Come in, the pizza is on its way. I ordered pepperoni for you and chicken for me." Rooster informs, grabbing the case of beer that Hangman brought.
"You remembered my favorite pizza flavor?" Hangman asks and Bradley's eyes widen, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, unsure of what to say. "Cute." Hangman says, walking past Rooster. He smiles when he notices Rooster hurrying into the kitchen with a blush on his cheeks.
After Rooster puts the beers in the fridge, he grabs two cold ones and brings one to Hangman. The two sit on the couch and start drinking while they wait for the pizza. When it arrives, they eat in silence. Once they're full, they start chatting a bit, mostly about work, but as the drinks start to flow, it becomes more personal.
"Mind if I ask you a question?" Rooster begins, Hangman shrugs. "Why didn't you go with Coyote? You don't have to say if you don't want to," Rooster adds when he sees Hangman sigh.
"You might think I'm an idiot if you hear the answer," Jake says.
"Try me."
"Look, my family isn't very good, and I always avoided spending time with them on holidays. Javy started inviting me to go with him when we became friends, and his family is great. They've welcomed me since the first time I went there, always trying to make me feel comfortable. But no matter how hard they try, I can't get it out of my head that I'm not part of the family, that I don't deserve to be there. I have my family, and they suck. I even envy Javy for having such an amazing family. To avoid those thoughts, I just didn't go." Jake shrugs, his eyes fixed on the ground, afraid to look at Rooster and have him stare at him with judgment.
"Well, I don't think you're an idiot. In fact, that's why I didn't go with Penny, Amelia and Maverick," Bradley says, Jake looks at him curious. "I've been to dinner with the three of them a few times and felt the same way you described, mainly because I really wanted to be there with my parents, but that's impossible, so to avoid feeling bad, I made the same decision as you."
Jake nods, feeling good to have someone who understands him. They go back to watching the television for a few minutes when an idea crosses Bradley's mind.
"You know, what do you think about spending the holidays together?" Bradley asks, and Jake looks at him confused. "That way, we'll avoid feeling this way, and no one will be on our backs because we'll have an excuse," Bradley explains.
"Not a bad idea, I'm in." Jake agrees, they seal the deal with a light clink of their bottles.
"Okay, the next holiday is New Year's, do you have any plans?" Bradley asks.
"No, and you?"
"I was thinking about going to a party, want to come along?" Bradley offers.
"Are you going to wear a Hawaiian print shirt?" Jake asks.
"No."
Jake lets out a sigh of relief. "Then I go."
"Idiot, you know you love my shirts." Bradley lightly shoves Jake.
"You're delusional, Bradshaw." Jake says and smiles, Bradley rolls his eyes but is smiling as he takes another sip of his beer.
Jake and Bradley talk a little longer and laugh a lot together; anyone watching them would never imagine they used to be rivals. It's past midnight when Jake gets up to leave.
"Roo?" Jake calls with his hand on the door handle of his car. Bradley looks at him, his cheeks turning red at the nickname, but he would die saying it was from the cold. "You were good company," Jake says, and Bradley can't help but smile, remembering his promise. Jake waves goodbye and leaves.
When a few minutes later Bradley receives a message from Jake telling him he's home, Bradley is still smiling, and it's with that smile on his face that he falls asleep.
*
A week later, Bradley parks in front of Jake's house. He honks his horn to let Jake know he's there, and shortly after, Jake walks out the door. Bradley's jaw drops when he sees Jake's outfit. Jake's shirt is perfectly tailored to his body, and his pants make Bradley wonder how Jake can breathe, and especially if he'll be able to think with Jake by his side dressed like that.
Jake gets in the car and smiles at Bradley, his smile widening when he sees Bradley staring at him with the hunger of ten predators.
"Are you planning on getting there this year?" Jake jokes, Bradley blushes and focuses his eyes on the road, he prepares himself not to drink too much or he'll end up confessing feelings he's not even sure what they are yet.
They head to the party in silence, when they get there, they go straight to the bar.
"It's a good place, and the drinks are good too." Jake comments, looking around and taking a sip of his drink.
"Don't let Penny hear you say that." Bradley says and Jake laughs.
"I'm her favorite, she would forgive me." He says with a smug smile.
"Okay, Mr. Arrogance, wanna dance?" Bradley calls, Jake nods.
When he asked Jake to dance, Bradley never thought he was condemning himself to some kind of torture. Jake danced as if he'd been doing it forever; his body seemed in tune with the music, and the way he moved his hips should have been considered a sin. Bradley could barely concentrate on how he moved, and Jake noticed that.
"You need to move your hips more, Roo." And as if hearing that nickname wasn't enough to blow Bradley's mind, Jake make things worse by putting his hands on Bradley's hips and teaching him how to dance.
Bradley couldn't help but blush as Jake pulled him closer, Jake must have noticed it too as he frowned.
"Are you okay?" Jake asked worriedly.
"I need water." Bradley says and walks away, he thought walking away to avoid an erection that would get him expelled and maybe even arrested would be the best choice.
Jake dances a little more and then comes to check on Bradley.
"Feeling better?" Jake asks, and Bradley nods. "Okay, recover a little more, I'm going to the bathroom and then we'll dance again." Jake says and walks away.
As Jake enters the bathroom, he smiles to himself. Bradley looks cute trying to hide his attraction to Jake. Jake hopes that during the next round of dancing, Bradley will decide to tell him or do something about it.
"It feels like I've been stabbed."
It's the first thing Jake hears when he leaves the stall after relieving himself, Jake moves to the sink.
"It's just a little wine."
"I can't get engaged in that shirt."
Jake looks up and through the reflection of the mirror in front of him, he can see three guys, one of them has the most desolate expression Jake has ever seen, one of his friends tries to calm him down and the other tries to clean the huge wine stain on his shirt.
Jake is no expert at laundry, but he doesn't think wet toilet paper is going to be much helpfull.
"It's not so bad." The friend who's trying to clean up the stain looks up and tries to offer an encouraging smile, but it's the wanest smile Jake has ever seen.
"Yes, it looks like a flower!" The other adds.
Jake looks down and focuses on washing his hands, thinking it's none of his business.
"A blood flower." The guy with the stained shirt whimpers and Jake wrinkles his nose.
"I'll trade with you." The friend who was trying to clean offers, Jake looks at him as he dries his hands and sees that he is thinner than the guy with the stained shirt, the shirt will be too tight and not perfectly shaped like the stained shirt was.
The one with the stained shirt must think the same, since he keeps crying.
"Oh my God!" he exclaims. "I look like Carrie."
Jake's eyes widen slightly, seeing that the guy isn't wrong.
"Listen, he loves you. He's still going to propose." The friend continues trying to calm him down, the other goes back to trying to clean up while nodding.
Jake is about to leave the bathroom when he hears:
"All my life I've wanted to get engaged on New Year's Eve, and now it's over! Let's just go." The guy turns around and Jake is right in front of him.
"Hi." Jake says, having no idea how he can help.
"My god, you look so good." The guy comments and starts crying again.
Jake looks at himself and then at the guy, he smiles having an idea of how to help.
*
When Jake returns to where he left Bradley, Bradley smiles when he sees him, but his smile fades and he frowns when he sees him with his wine-stained shirt.
"Don't ask," Jake says and Bradley is quick to agree. "Come on, let's dance." Jake holds out his hand and Bradley smiles, taking it and following him.
This time, Bradley manages to dance a lot with Jake and not feel like he's about to explode with lust; they have a lot of fun. As the countdown to midnight rolls around, both Jake and Bradley are thinking that it was a great idea to spend New Year's Eve together. At the end of the countdown, Jake pulls Bradley closer and kisses him on the cheek, his cheek quickly turns a deep shade of red, making Jake smile.
"Happy New Year." They say to each other.
Jake looks over Bradley's shoulder and his eyes land on the guy he swapped shirts with, his smile widens seeing that he is being proposed to.
"Look." Jake says turning Bradley around so he can see it too.
Bradley looks over and smiles when he recognizes the shirt the other guy is wearing, Bradley turns back to Jake.
"You know, you're a good person, Jake Seresin." Bradley says and it's his turn to kiss Jake on the cheek, and it's Jake's turn to blush.
Jake laughs to hide his shyness and pushes Bradley lightly, then takes his hand and pulls him back onto the dance floor.
*
When the party ends, Jake and Bradley are standing at the exit waiting for the valet to bring Bradley's car.
"Hey." They hear someone call out and look to the side.
Jake smiles when he sees it's the guy he swapped shirts with, Gregory.
"Hey, I saw your proposal, it was beautiful." Jake says.
"Thank you, it was thanks to you," Gregory says, his smile widening.
"It was no big deal." Jake smiles shyly.
"Yes, it was, it was simply amazing. Can I have your number? The least I can do is invite you to the wedding." Gregory hands his cell phone to Jake.
Jake thinks about denying it, but just by looking at Gregory, he knows he won't take no for an answer. Besides, he doesn't want to ruin Gregory's happy day. If he wants Jake at his wedding, so be it. Jake writes down the number and hands the phone back to Gregory.
"I'll take a nice suit, in case we need to swap." Jake jokes and Gregory laughs, he says goodbye and leaves.
The valet parks Bradley's car in front of them and hands the keys to Bradley, who gives him a tip.
"Look at you, making new friends." Bradley jokes, opening the car door for Jake.
"What can I say, I'm amazing." Jake says sitting down.
"Yes, you are." Bradley says and closes the door, which is good for Jake since that way Bradley doesn't see him blush.
"Will you go to the wedding with me?" Jake asks when they're already on the way, Bradley looks at him for a second and then back to the road.
"Well, yes, if you want. But why are you calling me? I thought our arrangement was just for holidays." Bradley asks curious.
"If you hadn't brought me to this party, I wouldn't have helped you, so if I'm going as a thank you for your help, you should go too." Jake says with a shrug, Bradley smiles.
"Whatever you say, dear."
*
The days pass, and three months after the proposal, Gregory and Wilson are getting married. Jake isn't too surprised by the speed; he'd been exchanging messages with Gregory, who was always singing his praises about Wilson. Speaking of messages, Jake sends one to Bradley asking if everything is set for them to go together the next day for the wedding, and Bradley confirms.
Jake would like to say that in these three months, his relationship with Bradley has evolved into more than friendship, but it's not true. They flirt a lot, but that's all it is. Jake continues to let Bradley choose when to make the first move, but Bradley simply doesn't.
The next day, the wedding is beautiful. Jake feels tears welling up from the moment they walk in together, and he cries during the vows. It would be hard not to cry, as Gregory and Wilson's love seemed to roll off them in waves that drowned everyone present. When he feels a hand on his waist, Jake looks at Bradley, who offers him a smile, his eyes welling up, Jake smiles too.
After the ceremony, they head to the reception, where Jake greets Gregory with a hug.
"You need to meet my parents," Gregory says, leading Jake and Bradley over to them. "Mom, Dad, this is Jake, the man who made all of this possible. Without his immense help, I never would have had the perfect proposal." Gregory says, and Jake smiles sheepishly, but greets Gregory's parents.
"Honey, you'd only have to wait another year for the proposal." Wilson jokes and Gregory gives him a light slap, Wilson takes his hand and kisses it.
"Well, all I know is that since then Jake has become my best friend. I hope I get invited to your wedding." Gregory says and Jake's eyes widen.
"You sure will be." Bradley says, placing his hand on Jake's waist.
Jake knows that denying Bradley would be embarrassing, but he doesn't want to lie, so he just smiles and leans closer to Bradley.
After that, they head to the party where Jake dances and drinks, completely forgetting Bradley's lie, he only remembers when he is saying goodbye to Gregory and Wilson.
"Don't forget, I expect my invitation soon," Gregory jokes, Wilson rolls his eyes fondly and leads his husband to the car that will take them to the hotel.
Jake makes a mental note that when Gregory asks about it again, — which he will since Gregory is definitely the type of person who, after getting married, wants everyone else to get married too —, Jake will say that he and Bradley broke up but would remain friends, which, while not what Jake wants, or not only that, is what they are.
Jake gets into the car after Bradley opens the door for him and sighs, feeling ready to take a shower, fall into bed, and sleep for several hours. Bradley, seeing him exhausted, smiles fondly and starts the car.
"So, where do you want to get married?" Bradley asks and Jake figures he's just making conversation.
"At the beach." Jake replies.
"I always figured you'd be more traditional, but I like the idea of wearing shorts," Bradley jokes, and Jake laughs. "Yeah, a beach wedding sounds great, I'm in."
Hearing this, Jake looks at Bradley who doesn't seem to have a trace of playfulness in his eyes.
"I think you're getting too into the character you invented." Jake jokes, giving Bradley the perfect opening to just agree, laugh, and forget about it.
But Bradley chooses another path.
"It's not a character, Jake, just say the word and I'll drive to Vegas right now." Bradley says, Jake feels his heart race and his head spin, he stares at Bradley and still doesn't see any joke in him, Jake smiles.
"Easy there, my man. If you're going to drive somewhere, it has to be Texas, my mom will kill me if she's not at my wedding." Jake says, figuring that a mother-in-law's threat will make Bradley back down. It's not what Jake wants him to do, but if this is a joke, Jake would rather know right away.
"Okay." Bradley then begins to turn the car.
"Bradley, stop! I was joking." Jake says quickly.
"I'm not." Bradley says looking at Jake and continuing to drive towards their houses.
"I'm seeing that now." Jake sighs in relief. "If you must know, that's not a definitive no," Jake warns.
"I like the sound of that." Bradley's smile could outshine the sun.
"Let's just put it into future plans, after all, you haven't even kissed me yet." Jake shrugs.
"True, I haven't kissed you yet." Bradley says more to himself, a second later he stops the car.
Jake looks at him confused, but when he sees Bradley leaning in, he smiles and leans in too. Jake doesn't know if it's because of how long they've been waiting or how much they want this, maybe because it's their first kiss, but it's the most perfect first kiss he's ever had, and given the huge smile on Bradley's face when they pull apart, Bradley feels the same way.
"You couldn't wait until we get home?" Jake jokes, breathing heavily.
"I didn't wait for the kiss to ask you to marry me, do you really think I was going to wait until we got home?" Bradley says, caressing Jake's face, who feels his cheeks heat up.
"Fair enough," Jake says and leans in to kiss Bradley again.
Jake's theory that it was perfect kiss because it was their first kiss is disproved after they share three more kisses, each one more perfect than the last. But even though they both want to continue, Jake says they have to go, and Bradley finally drives to Jake's house. To make up for it, Jake invites him in, and they share a few more kisses before falling asleep in each other's arms.
anonymous1997 Mon 01 Sep 2025 03:53PM UTC
Comment Actions