#me pressing a kiss to bradley's forehead: i'm about to give you so much self hate and doubt.

[nixie-deangel]

okay, hangster, obviously cause they got me in such a chokehold of ideas and whims and wishes, but I've seen a few people talking about one of the boys, usually Jake, think they're dating, while the other, usually Bradley, thinking they're just hooking up/it's not serious...

BUT what about a Bradley who thinks they're just hooking up because he doesn't think he's actually worth dating? A Bradley Bradshaw who is so riddled with self doubt and insecurity because the people he thought would support him in his life choices didn't and the few times he tried to have a serious, long term relationship, they treated him like shit.

And well, it's easy to put on a cocky veneer, to keep people from looking deep within when he plays piano and puts on a good show. It's easy to pretend other peoples opinions don't matter to him once he gets in his jet and does his job (even if Mav/Ice/Carole's actions and trying to control his life, keeps him so cautionary and repressed in his flying.)

So he just doesn't think he's worth it. Doesn't think he's worth the effort love and care for. Doesn't think he's worth enough to put up with his anger and bad moods and bad habits. Thinks that all he's really worth is sex and making his partner feel good, focusing all on them, the few hours they deem him decent enough to spend time with.

And then TGM happens and he talks with Mav and Ice and while they seem to bury the hatchet between them, they don't really talk about the real issues pulling his papers caused.

Then speed run a few months where the Daggers are a formed, permanent squad and Bradley and Jake start something up and it goes on for weeks, months and it's all good. Jake thinks they're falling in love, really building something strong and long lasting and Bradley feels like he's hanging on by his finger tips because he wants this so badly, almost as badly as he wanted to go to the academy.

Of course something happens and a fight ensues and Jake says something and Bradley can't help responding to it: "Of course I didn't think we were dating, Jake! Why the fuck would I let myself be stupid enough to hope for something I'd never get? That I didn't deserve? Why would I think you'd ever want me? I-I-I'm not worth dating. I'm not worth wanting or loving, so why would I let himself dare to dream, to hope, I could actual have you?"

something, something, Jake punches Mav and Ice out and absolutely smoothers Bradley in love and affection and possessive over him and gets even more cut throat when he even thinks someone is being mean to his Rooster. (the daggers also aide in this endeavor. And once Mav and Ice realizes how deeply they hurt Bradley, they actually talk things out for real and start really working to repair their relationship.)

[crinkled-emotions]

I'm so excited you're getting back into writing!!

I love seeing you mix it up with the characters, and I hope you don't mine this request. I was thinking Penny and Rooster? She gives me such adoptive mom vibes. I know your only just back taking requests for Rooster so if you're not into this, no problem at all!

I too love emeto, lol poor Roo, so maybe from the prompts, the one about retching and losing their voice, a deep breath that triggers a cough then a gag, and the one about staying in puke stained clothes (I had an idea about this one that's kinda off from the prompt, but Roo not wanting to change its his comfort sweatershirt, like maybe an old one belong to Mav, Goose, or even Ice. Penny calling Mav frantic about how to fix a stubborn Rooster, because he NEEDS to change, and Mav just being like "he's not being stubborn, he's scared and lonely 🥺)

Ohhhhhhh oKAY, oW! I'm fine, totally... fine... uh. Peel me off the floor, why don'tcha? 😂

I've been thinking about Penny helping Rooster for so long lmao. You read my mind!

We're getting some more teen!Bradley, being his usual angsty self. He's sick, leave him alone.

Warnings: emeto. Rooster is still lil Bradley Bradshaw, good with words when he wants to hurt those around him. He's a little emotional but he's not having a panic attack or anything.

-

"Hey, Penny, I gotta- there's an emergency on base, I have to go. Bradley should be fine, but would you mind keeping an eye on him?"

Penny glanced over her shoulder at the fifteen year old curled up on their couch, an eyebrow raised.

"What do I know about caring for teenagers, Pete?"

"Just do whatever feels right; except coddle him, whatever you do don't coddle him. Gotta go, love you."

Pete pressed one last kiss to her lips, kneeling in front of Bradley on the couch.

"B," he began softly, "I gotta run to base, but I won't be more than a couple hours. Do you want me to bring something back? Gatorade, pedialyte? Soup?"

Bradley shook his head, rolling on to his side facing the back of the couch. Penny grimaced, watching Pete kiss the top of his godson's forehead anyway before legging it out the door.

-

Look, I should start at the start.

Bradley had been off all week- he'd been rude, then quiet, and then randomly that morning he'd burst into tears before he had to go to school and Maverick had been scared something was really wrong so he'd let him stay home. It was around the time Pete and Penny were trying to live together for the first time, before she'd met her (now ex) husband and had Amelia. She'd been struggling to bond with Bradley, as much as he was polite he also insisted he didn't want another mother nor did he want her in Pete's life for her own good. For the time being, he was reserved around her. Pete insisted it was just everything that had happened; he didn't want to let anyone else in despite both Goose and Carole knowing Penny years before he was born.

That morning, Maverick had enough of his emotional turmoil and gave in, letting him stay home from school. Sure enough, the fever started twenty minutes later and he was gagging in the bathroom within the hour. Penny felt a little panicked; she'd never had to take care of a sick teenager, she wasn't a parent, and parenting didn't come naturally to her like it seemed to come to Pete (a majority of the time).

-

For the time being, he was asleep on the couch, unwilling to move to his room because he'd wanted to be close to Pete. Now that Pete was gone, Penny rounded the corner into the living area and knelt by where he was curled up.

"Do you have a fever?"

"Mav already checked it."

"Do you think you could keep some water down?"

"Mav already tried."

"Bradley-"

"-look, I appreciate the gesture, but please, just- leave me alone."

"Pete left you in my care, I have to make sure you see the light of day tomorrow."

Bradley glanced over his shoulder.

"He's gonna be gone that long?"

"Hopefully not, but we both know how it goes with base emergencies."

Bradley sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"You look a little pale-"

"-yeah, well, my stomach hurts."

Penny glanced over, locating the bucket Pete had thankfully left by Bradley's side just in case. She'd been hearing that phrase my stomach hurts all morning, and it was usually followed by a round of vomiting. Sure enough, he sat up and she handed the bucket over, hesitantly rubbing his back. Bradley rested his arms on the rim, wincing as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Penny cleared her throat.

"It might help if you take a deep breath, sometimes you can breathe through the nausea and you won't get sick," she offered. Brown eyes glanced up at her, and then she heard him try to get a full breath in. The deep breath triggered a cough and Penny winced when he retched, dry heaving into the bucket.

"Oh god, fuck, I hate this," he croaked hoarsely. Penny went to move her hand over his back but realised he'd sweated through his hoodie and slowly retracted, grimacing.

"You're burning up," she murmured. Bradley glanced up from where he'd had his head in the bucket, eyes darting around the room nervously.

"What is it?" Penny asked.

"It hurts," he complained. Penny frowned.

"Your stomach? I thought we'd established that-"

"-no, my throat."

Penny reached for the water bottle Maverick had left with him, offering it to Bradley as she took the bucket from him.

"You weren't actually sick, you need to drink something."

"Don't make me."

"Bradley..."

"Penny, dammit, I'm not drinking anything, okay? Nothing sits right, at least I won't bring anything up."

"It can tear your throat. It already hurts; the pain of tearing it is excruciating. Please, just a couple sips. I'm pretty sure Pete would dump me if he came home and you were worse."

"That's true... fine, hand it over."

Penny passed him the water bottle, watching him take a couple of hesitant sips. It must have clicked how dehydrated he actually was because before she could stop him, he was downing the whole thing.

-

"Do you think you should change your shirt?"

"No."

Penny knelt by where Bradley had migrated to the toilet bowl, grimacing as he looked up at her. She sent him a sympathetic look, but tried to keep it casual. Pete said not to coddle him, but to be fair she didn't really know how to coddle a teenager... or not coddle him. She reached for the hoodie again but Bradley tightened his hold on it.

"I need it, please leave it."

Penny raised an eyebrow, looking over the older hoodie. She wasn't sure where it was from but it had a familiar cologne on it under the- well. The reason she was trying to get him to take it off.

"Bradley... it's covered in puke."

"I don't care, Penny."

"Okay. Okay, alright."

Penny got up, carefully backing away from the bathroom. Bradley sniffed, shivering on the bathroom floor. Penny made her way through the house, locating her phone sitting on the kitchen counter. Pete was notorious for forgetting his, but she had to hope he'd remembered because she really needed his help.

"Maverick."

"Pete, it's Penny. Uh, how much longer do you think you're going to be?"

"Is Bradley worse?"

Maverick immediately sounded concerned, and she could almost feel him about to leave base against orders. She winced, glancing at the bathroom door that was now closed.

"No, he's- he's in this hoodie, it's covered in puke, and I keep trying to get him to get changed but he won't. His stubbornness is killing me here, Mav, what do I do?"

Maverick was quiet for a moment.

"What colour is the hoodie?"

"Uh- green? Dark green. Why?"

"It's Goose's. When he's really sick or feeling vulnerable, it comes out of his closet. I've been dousing it in Goose's cologne for years. Uh, look, don't worry about it. I should be home soon, we're still trying to get things under wraps here."

"He's just so stubborn."

Maverick chuckled.

"Penny, he's not stubborn, he's scared. This is the first time he's been sick without me or either of his parents there, and as much as he's trying to prove he's an adult he's still just a kid. I know he has his reservations about you being in the house, but he's a teenage boy and he's never adapted well to change so don't take it personally."

"How do I get him to not be scared?"

"You don't. Is he keeping down fluids, is he sleeping, have you been able to get him to eat anything?"

"He can keep water down for a couple hours, but it seems to come back up. He's been sleeping for the most part, and I haven't tried to get him to eat anything, he said even the smell of something solid will make him puke."

"That sounds normal. Okay, alright, look, I'll be home as soon as I can. Please just... be kind to him."

"I will. Thanks, Pete."

"See you soon."

Penny hung up her phone, tucking it into her pocket. She was surprised when she turned around to find Bradley leaning against the kitchen counter, sniffling.

"Sorry," he finally said. She crossed her arms, but she couldn't stay mad at the poor kid.

"It's okay. I'm sorry too."

"It might be gross to you, but I can still smell my dad on it, and I miss him."

“I know that now. That’s Goose’s hoodie, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. How about I get you some paper towel, and we can make it tolerable until you feel well enough to wash it.”

Penny was already rounding the corner into the kitchen, producing a roll of paper towels followed by dish soap from the edge of the sink. Bradley regarded her for a moment.

“Soap?”

“Not going to wash it, I’m just worried about it staining. Can you give me the end of your sleeve? Either side.”

Reluctantly, Bradley stretched his arm out and let Penny dab at the stained fabric, frowning when she reached for the dish soap.

“It’s not going to change the smell, right?”

“Other than the barf smell, no. Mav told me this is the brand your mom used anyway, so if anything you get both parents.”

Bradley’s eyes watered and he reached his other sleeve up to frantically swipe at them. Penny glanced up at him.

“It’s okay to cry. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now.”

“I miss them,” he choked out hoarsely, voice gone from vomiting and crying. Penny put a hand on his shoulder but didn’t push it, focusing on the puke stains.

“Is Mav mad?”

“What- no! No, Bradley, he’s just really worried about you. He’s coming home as soon as he can.”

He stifled a sob, abruptly getting up and walking away. Penny watched him for a moment, sighed, and suddenly had the urge to call her father and apologise for being so difficult after her mother died.

-

"Penny? Pen, Bradley?"

Maverick dumped his jacket and duffel bag at the door, kicking off his boots. Penny was asleep under a blanket on the couch, snoring softly, but she looked peaceful. Maverick frowned, rounding the corner to Bradley's room. He too looked asleep at first glance, but Maverick knew he had to check his fever so he carefully navigated the mess on the floor to kneel by him and put a hand to his forehead.

"Hmmm... Mav?"

"Hey, kid. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit."

"Your stomach is still upset?"

"Not like it was. I think I'm out the other side."

"Your fever's lower, which is a good sign. When was the last time you puked?"

"I think it was around eleven, nothing since. I can't really remember what happened since then; what time is it?"

"Nearly two am."

Bradley hummed, yawning. Rolling on to his side, he reached out and Maverick wrapped him in a hug.

"Wait; where's your hoodie?"

Maverick glanced around the room frantically when he realised Bradley was in a simple black t-shirt, no green hoodie to be found. He gestured toward the bedroom door.

"Penny managed to peel it off me, she said it was going through a recovery process and should be good to go in five to seven business days."

Maverick stifled a snort, pressing a kiss to his godson's temple.

"Alright then, I'll make sure it gets back to you. Go back to sleep, I'm only down the hallway."

"I know Mav, thanks."

Bradley yawned again, before burying himself back under his blanket. Maverick made his way back out of the room, grimacing.

"B? This weekend, if you're feeling a little better, can you pick up a little?"

"Sure thing Mav," Bradley replied drowsily. The way he replied told Maverick he'd have grounds to deny the conversation ever happened.

-

"Hey, what time did you get home?"

Penny wandered into the kitchen the next morning, stretching as she yawned to herself. Maverick offered her a cup of coffee and a kiss, smiling at her.

"Good morning. I got in around 2 but I went straight in to check on Bradley. I hope he wasn't too much yesterday, I'm sorry for leaving you like that. I could have taken him to Ice and Sarah's, I was just worried-"

"-he's been moved around enough already, Pete. If you ever need me to, I'm happy to watch him. He's a good kid, just fighting his own demons."

Maverick's eyebrows raised, and then he relaxed. He suddenly looked a lot more like the man she knew when she was in her twenties, fun-loving and kind. Ever since Carole died, he'd constantly frowned.

"Thank you," he finally said, "thank you."

"Is there waffles?"

Bradley wandered into the kitchen, but paused in the doorway when he realised Penny and Maverick were kissing.

"Oh, for fuck's sake. I just stopped puking."

"Bradley!"

-

[winchesterandpie]

A Healing Shower

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x reader

Word Count: 1362

Warnings: highly self-indulgent, possibly OOC Jake, insecure reader, showers with Jake (but he's a gentleman)

A/N: Ok, I can explain, I'm working on another drabble with a bet, but I have been starting to love the hidden soft side of Jake Seresin. Lo and behold, this was born. I'm a bit nervous writing for him, especially having written so much for Bradley, so let me know what you think and if I should write more for Jake.

“Jake!” You were swept up into a hug by the excited aviator. He spun you around with a laugh and you hoped he didn’t notice your tiny flinch when he lifted you off the ground.

“How’s my best girl?” He always asked the same question with that same, stupid grin, and you always gave the same answer.

“Better now that you’re home.” You grinned at him. “How’s my favorite aviator?”

“Better now that I’m home.” 

Jake leaned in to kiss you and you met him eagerly. You had missed the feel of his lips on yours, so you pressed in closer. One of your hands found its way into his hair, drawing a sigh from his throat. His hands wandered down your sides, and you couldn’t help the flinch when he reached your hips. You knew he noticed when his hands froze, then slid back up to safe territory.

The kiss slowed, then you pulled away, pressing your forehead to his. His arms kept you pulled close, for which you were grateful. You hadn’t had a strong bout of insecurity in a long time, not since before you met Jake Seresin, and you were nervous about his reaction.

He didn’t press the issue immediately, content to just take in your presence. Eventually, though, he pulled back enough to look you in the eyes, cupping your cheek in his hand.

“What’s wrong?” When you opened your mouth, he fixed you with a firm look. “And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I know you better than that.”

You grinned, a little ruefully, when he predicted what you would have said. “Sometimes I think you know me too well.”

“Is it something I did?”

“No, it’s not you,” you reassured immediately, shaking your head. “It’s just my head.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s alright, Jake, I’m sure it’ll be better tomorrow.” You waved him off, starting to move away. His arms tightened and green eyes searched yours.

“If you’re sure.” He wasn’t actually letting it go, you could still feel his concern, but he wasn’t pushing either. “I’m gonna get ready for bed. Join me?”

You were torn at his invitation. On the one hand, you didn’t want to let him go just yet, needing the closeness. On the other, you knew he wanted to shower, and you weren’t sure you could shower without giving yourself away. Your internal dilemma was solved by the pleading look in his eyes. He wanted the closeness just as much as you did.

You let him lead you to the bathroom, turning the shower on so the water could get warm while you got ready. Jake didn’t comment on the way you faced away from the mirror while you undressed, but he did smile softly at you.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, approaching to press a kiss to your temple. 

Sometimes, he would use such an action to lead into something more, but today there was nothing but soft affection. If you hadn’t been so distracted, you might have realized that he had you figured out. Still, he didn’t push, he just guided you into the warm stream of water.

Even feeling down on yourself, you were not too distracted to admire Jake’s form as he undressed to join you. He tossed a wink over his shoulder at you when he caught you looking.

“See something you like?”

“Maybe,” you hedged, shrugging innocently. 

Jake sauntered toward you, grinning. “Only maybe?”

“Well, like isn’t how I would describe it.”

“Mmm, then how would you describe me?” He took your hand, hiding a sly grin as he kissed the back of your hand.

“Gorgeous, sculpted by the gods, too good to be true” you teased, then softened and finished by simply saying, “Someone I love.”

Jake melted, releasing your hand so he could hold your face in both hands. “There you go again, being so perfect.”

“I--”

“No, don’t do that,” he stopped you gently, but firmly. “You don’t have to see it, but don’t tell me it’s not there. Please, baby.”

You paused for a minute, then dropped your gaze and nodded. His thumb brushed back and forth on your cheek a few times before he was nudging you back to join you under the water. Often when he came home from an assignment, you would wash his hair and generally dote on him while you reveled in how soft he was for you and you alone. 

Today, Jake still let you take your time washing him. You couldn’t help pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw when he tilted his head into your hands. Both of you loved it when you played with his hair, but he didn’t let you go on for very long. 

When he turned it around on you, his touch was gentle and undemanding. You pressed your face into his neck to hide a shuddering sigh when his hands reached your stomach. You didn’t push his hands away and he rewarded you with a kiss to the side of your head. Once he was done, it turned into just holding each other in the hot water. That was what finally had you ready to talk.

“Yesterday, I just got more worried than normal,” you started and his arms squeezed a little tighter around you. “I’m not sure why, I just couldn’t stop it. Then this morning, that had worn off, but I started overthinking how worried I got and it went off from there.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” he offered quietly, tracing circles on your skin.

“I don’t normally get insecure about how I look, I swear. I was just overthinking everything else and it was like the wall I’d built to keep those thoughts out crumbled and--” you cut yourself off before you could ramble more.

“Hey, it’s okay.” he reassured, resting his cheek atop your head. “It’s okay.”

“I didn’t want to say anything because I thought I could get it under control, and you had just gotten home. It’s just… you’re so wonderful and your job is so cool. I wonder sometimes if I deserve you.”

He pulled back just enough to meet your gaze. “Of course you do, of course you do. Darlin’, you’re all I want.”

“I know that, consciously,” you said, emphasizing it with a nod, “but today, my little traitor brain is being nasty and not listening.” You chuckled at yourself, hoping it might make him smile. It did, if only a little. “Come on, let’s get out of here before the water gets cold.”

 He turned the water off while you reached out of the shower for towels. The two of you changed quickly into sleep clothes--a big shirt of Jake’s and underwear for you, and just a pair of boxers for him--and did the rest of your evening routines side by side. Jake was in bed first, holding out an arm in invitation.

“I’m sorry your brain is a traitor,” he said, smiling softly at you when you had settled in his arms.

“Eh, it’ll be ok.” You shrugged, turning your head to press a kiss to his chest. “It’ll shut up after sleep, I think.”

“And if it doesn’t, or if it comes up again, you’ll talk to me?”

“I’ll try,” you promised.

He hummed a response, shifting on the bed to draw you closer. “Tomorrow, I can give you a demonstration of just how wonderful you are.”

“Is that so? I wasn’t aware you were a teacher.”

“Excuse you, I would be a wonderful teacher.” He played up the indignance, shoving your shoulder lightly.

“Mmm, but you’re too sexy to be a teacher.”

Jake laughed at that, throwing one arm over his eyes. “Oho, I see. How about we have a lesson tomorrow on how sexy you are?”

“I suppose I could agree to that.”

He tilted his head to kiss you properly, even as sleep started to creep over you. When you started to drift off, he pressed a kiss to your forehead and pulled the blankets higher to cover both of you. He couldn’t help the fondness that warmed his heart as you snuggled into him.

“Love you,” you mumbled.

“Love you too.”

[winchesterandpie]

Dance with me?

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x reader

Word Count: 715

Warnings: Very self-indulgent, basically just fluff that I wrote quickly and didn't proofread extensively

A/N: I keep having ideas for this guy. This spiraled in a different direction than I originally intended, but I didn't mind. I have a few more ideas for him that I'm trying to work on--I kid you not, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw has me on a roll! If you want to request something for him, send it on in! I hope you enjoy! Gif is not mine!

Mumbling along with the song playing through the speaker, you twisted gracefully around the kitchen to get the ingredients you needed. Bradley was stuck on base in a debriefing, while you had gotten to come home after you finished the test flight with your wingman. 

It was the perfect opportunity to make this meal for him. You referred back to the index card with Carole’s quick handwriting before returning to the cutting board. Your beloved husband had been running himself into the ground lately, and you wanted to do something nice for him. Maverick still had some things from the Bradshaw’s old house, including a small box of recipes that he offered up happily when you told him your plan.

You were so focused on following Carole’s directions that you didn’t hear the door open and shut. You didn’t hear the sound of a bag being set down or the footsteps that stopped in the kitchen doorway. You just switched seamlessly to the frying pan, checking the progress of the cooking food as you swayed to the beat of the music.

The first you knew of Rooster’s return was his arms wrapping around your waist as he leaned his chin on your shoulder.

“Roose, you’re home!” You reached up and back to hold the side of his face, turning your head to kiss his cheek.

“How’ve you been, Hawk?” He turned too, just enough to catch your lips in a proper kiss.

“I’m fine, it’s you I’m worried about. You look tired, Brad.”

“Wow, thank you.”

“You know what I mean.” You smacked his shoulder lightly, making him laugh. “You’ve been working too hard.”

He sighed and nodded, then dropped his head to press his lips to your shoulder. “I know. But today was the last day of it--that project’s done and they’re giving us a week off.”

“I’m glad. You deserve some time off.” Your hand slid into his hair, playing with the loose waves until you felt him relax against you.

“Mmm, so do you. But enough about that, what’s all this?”

“Well, you’ve been doing so much lately, and I wanted to do something for you,” you started, shifting the food in the pan, “so I asked Mav if he had any of your mom’s recipes and he gave me this one.”

Bradley lifted one hand from your waist to the counter where the index card sat, lifting it delicately. His other arm tightened around you when he recognized the handwriting. You covered his hand on your waist with your own, feeling the small shake in his breath. When you felt the shoulder of your shirt grow damp, you were suddenly afraid you had overstepped.

“Is that okay?”

He said your name so tenderly then, with just the tiniest waver in his voice, “This means the world to me. Thank you.”

You moved the pan off the heat, turning the burner off before you turned so you could wrap your arms around him. He curled into your hold, letting you hold his head pressed to you. After a long moment, he pulled back enough to rest his forehead against yours.

“What did I do to deserve you?”

You just shook your head in response, lost for words to describe how much you loved the man holding you. He understood, you could tell he did by the softness in his eyes. Rooster let go of you, setting the index card back down before offering his hand to you.

“Dance with me?”

“I’d love to,” you answered, taking his hand and letting him pull you into the middle of the kitchen.

You rested your head on his shoulder, tilting your face so you could keep looking at him. He held your joined hands to his chest, over his heart. The playlist in the background landed on a new song, something soft and sweet that matched the pace of your swaying.

You hadn’t thought you could love him more than you did, but when he started humming the song it was like you were falling all over again. You told him as much in a hushed murmur, not wanting to disturb the peace of the moment.

“Me too.” He matched your tone, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”