#yes i didn't write a single line of slow down b/c this occupied my mind instead

[the-ace-with-spades]

I need more jealous! Jake fics in my life people so here comes a little pre-canon fic idea:

Jake and Bradley meet during flight training in Texas and something keeps on happening between them. There's tension and not the regular rival kind, and there are glances and comments that sound almost like flirting.

They go to the gym together, and go on runs in the morning, twice a week. Almost every night Bradley is at the local bar, winning over anyone and everyone with his piano skills and heavenly voice and buying Jake drinks when he sticks around with him when the night gets longer and people depart to go home. There's chit-chat during training and a lot of it, and remarks and teasing down on the ground. Any time Bradley is in the room, it's almost like he becomes the sun Jake is supposed to orbit around.

After two years of training and being in Bradley's space constantly, five days a week or more, Jake's like 95% sure Bradley isn't completely straight. He's not sure Bradley is aware he isn't but he'd eat his Stetson rather than say Bradley is straight.

He's also had his opinions vocalized a couple of times when the guys said some nasty shit around them so he's definitely not homophobic at least.

When they get placed in the same Super Hornet training squad after flight school, Jake takes it as fate doing its job.

He offers Bradley they could rent something together, 'cut the costs' — which, crazy idea if it turns out they're not that into each other — but Bradley says he's going to live with a friend and they already got a place agreed on.

Still, Jake is more than hopeful that some less strict environment, a bit more free time and staying close will be enough to go from tension to something.

Then he meets Natasha.

When he enters the bar Bradley told him he's going to that day, he sees him at the piano and he's instantly irritated.

There's a girl, a pretty one, glued to his side, playing the keys on his right.

Bradley's never let Jake play alongside him.

Bradley introduces the girl as Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace, who's also going to be in their training squadron. They met during Pre-Flight Indoctrination but Bradley doesn't exactly specify who she is to him now or who she was then.

Jake tries not to assume. It gets harder not to as the night goes on.

Natasha is glued to him the whole time. The few moments she isn't, it's almost like Bradley is seeking her out so she can be glued to him the whole time.

She sits on Bradley's lap at some point. Just kind of plops on his lap in the booth and steals his peanuts and keeps the conversation going and Bradley just wraps his arm around her waist so she doesn't slide off.

When he gets up to go for a refill, he grabs her and makes a few steps carrying her with one arm, like he weighs nothing, until she protests enough he lets go.

Jake is mentally sneering the whole time — he knows it wouldn't look like this anyway, for him and Bradley, because two guys in public is impossible, but this is supposed to be his. He spent the past two years pinning after something like this and one fucking day and whoever Natasha is, she's got Bradley wrapped around her.

It doesn't end on just that night. No, any briefing or lunch break or even office or study time they've got as the whole squad -- she's there, always way too fucking close and always seemingly sliding into the place Jake's been digging for himself for years in less than a week.

Jake can't even get a minute to initiate their usual flirting-slash-banter because she's always there, inserting herself into digs and jabs.

Bradley didn't say she was his girlfriend in any capacity over the days so he's trying to not assume but hell, they're together everywhere.

He decides enough is enough. He goes to where he knows Bradley lives now, two streets down in the slightly bigger base housing, ready to offer him to take a run with him, maybe establish it into a new habit again.

He rings the bell and nothing. He knocks and nothing. He does a mix of both and finally — the door opens.

Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace stands in the door frame. Not only is she standing there, at seven in the morning on a Saturday, but she's got only a too-big T-shirt on — one with a very faded Queen logo that he's seen on Bradley a few times.

She's not wearing any pants but the t-shirt is too big even on Bradley so it covers half of her thighs but he can also see she's not wearing a bra because it's cold and it's a thin, white t-shirt and Jake will have to bleach his eyes later because he can see her nipples.

"Hangman? What are you doing here?"

He can connect the dots and well, Bradley won't be interested in him when he's got a girlfriend so Jake just—runs. Leaves and doesn't say anything, feeling absolutely dumb.

He feels even dumber when finally — finally — on the following Monday, Bradley approaches him alone, no Natasha in sight, and starts the conversation with, "Nat said you came to visit on Saturday morning."

Jake grits his teeth — it's always Nat, too, when half the time Jake is just Hangman.

"You might tell her to put on some more clothes next time."

"I mean, it's just me usually," Bradley defends. "There's nothing I haven't seen."

To say Jake is fucking pissed is an understatement. And he can't even fucking avoid them because they're everywhere, always freaking glued at the hip, always so comfortable with each other, always touchy feely, very unlike the Bradshaw Jake knew, and he's either going to be angry at them or he's going to wallow in self-pity.

Naturally, Jake does the easier thing — he lashes out at them. Banters become sharper, remarks are more cutting, and slowly, the easy-going truce he had with Bradley starts disappearing.

Natasha does not. She's still there, attached at the hip, and like Bradley's better, more emotionally secure half, just going around with her life and thinking Jake is an asshole without a reason even if she stole the man he had unspoken dibs on for the past two years.

(Bradley is, obviously, oblivious about the whole ordeal...)