Work Text
Bradley sighs when he turns around to find Jake behind the counter about to pour coffee for himself. “Decaf? Really, Bradshaw? I wasn’t born yesterday.” He throws Bradley a betrayed look. “What about the staff only sign is it that tells you it’s not meant for you? Please tell me, so I can fix it.” He eyes the tremble in Jake’s hand and gently takes the coffee pot and mug from him. “You’ve been awake now for how long? Thirty-six hours? The last thing you need is another cup of coffee.” Still, he pours Jake a cup, knowing he’ll just run over to the only other diner in town. Cain, its owner, won’t keep an eye on Jake while he works. Bradley’s not about to let Jake keel over in one of his booths. “Yeah, yeah.” He waves him off. “I just need to get this one in past the deadline and then I can pass out for the next 48 hours.” The grateful smile Jake offers him as he watches Bradley fixing his coffee just the way he likes it makes Bradley’s cheeks feel warm. He clears his throat and hands the coffee over. “You work too much, Seresin.” Bradley is mesmerized for a moment, watching as Jake closes his eyes at the taste of the first sip, his lashes fanning out over the top of his cheeks. The bags under his eyes make him frown though. Not for the first time since he’s gotten to know Jake, he wants to reach out and smooth the pads of his fingers over them. He reaches up instead to slide his fingers through his own curls, meeting Halo’s eyes over the counter. She’s basically running the lunch rush by herself today because Bradley needs to check in on their most frequent and most annoying customer. He’ll hear about it later, for sure. Halo raises an eyebrow as she squeezes past them to get to the coffee pot, and it’s enough to deepen the blush Bradley can never quite stop from developing when Jake’s around. “Aww, you really do care,” Jake mocks and Bradley thinks if Jake’s still making fun of him, it can’t be that bad. He’s still gonna send Coyote a text to make sure he tucks Jake in and locks him into his bedroom as soon as he gets home. Bradley herds Jake out from behind the counter. “Well, Javy didn’t want to carry that burden alone anymore and as the upstanding citizen I am…” Jake shakes his head and smiles as he lets himself be guided back to his table. There’s an open laptop waiting for him. “You should get a medal for putting up with me, is what you’re suggesting?” He sighs, heaving himself into the booth and almost sloshing the coffee all over the little table that’s been Jake’s ever since he first showed up in town. He says it jokingly, but the grin doesn’t quite reach Jake’s eyes.Bradley nods at the laptop. “When’s the deadline?” Jake squints at the little clock on his screen and cringes. “52 minutes.” “Alright. You good?” Jake’s hands haven’t gotten steadier with the extra dose of caffeine. Bradley bites his lip, hesitating to join his team back for the lunch rush. “I’m very good, Bradshaw. In fact, I’m–”“Too good to be true, yeah, yeah. We all know it.” Fanboy yelling something from the back makes Bradley jump. He turns around and nods for Halo to go check on the kitchen and pulls his little pad from the pocket of his Hawaiian shirt. “Go,” Jake nods at him, chugging down his coffee and sliding his eyes over the crowd gathered inside Rooster’s. It’s a popular spot in town, frequented by both blue and white collar workers.When he opened Rooster’s years ago, he’d dreamed of this. A place for everyone to meet and eat, have a good time and a good meal. Bradley pulls the pencil from behind his ear and points it at Jake. “Do not leave before I’ve fed you.” Jake gestures at him to go away, already immersed back into whatever he’s working on. Bradley shakes his head and glances over his shoulder one last time as he walks away, greeting the out-of-towners that just took a table by the door. “Welcome to Rooster’s. What can I get you guys?” *** Bradley greets Javy with a fist bump over the counter and nods at Jake’s table where the guy’s been half-asleep, staring into the half-distance for the last twenty or so minutes. “I’ve packed up lunch. Make sure he eats?” “I’ll try my best,” Coyote says, receiving the brown bag and looking inside.“There’s enough for the both of you.” “Bless you, Rooster.” He follows Bradley’s worried gaze. “How is he?” “You know how he is.” Javy nods solemnly. “Well, I’ll try to get him to a flat surface so he can pass out.” “Please do. And call, if guys need anything.” Javy nods and Bradley watches as he makes his way to Jake’s booth. He wipes the counter, keeping an eye on the quiet conversation they’re having before Javy helps Jake pack up his laptop and practically pulls him up.His eyes follow the two of them all the way out to the parking lot where he can see Javy help Jake into his passenger seat. Jake doesn’t even visibly complain about being handled, which tells Bradley everything he needs to know about how exhausted Jake is.Ever since his niece showed up in town asking her uncle to take her in, Jake’s been working himself to the bones trying to keep a roof over their heads. Jake had come to town a couple of years ago.Over time, Bradley and him had shared enough late nights and tequila shots at the Hard Deck for Bradley to be one of the few people who know that Jake’s parents had disowned him when he was outed in the little town he had grown up in. That the same fate occurring to his niece years later had rattled Jake. Bradley had been by his side when Jake’s brother-in-law had come here last summer to get his daughter back, talking bullshit about some program their church offered to “get her back on the right path”.The brother-in-law had left with a black eye instead of his daughter and though Bradley didn’t know all the details, he knew enough that Nat had helped Jake keep Allison with him without earning himself a kidnapping charge. Jake had been barely scraping by before, taking odd jobs around town, having grown up on a farm and being quite handy.He had helped out Bradley at Rooster’s before, fixing stuff here and there, but had always refused to take Bradley’s money. But once Allison had come into the picture, there had been another person to think about. A person Jake wanted to send to college, having missed out on that experience himself. One night, both of them drunk, Jake had confessed to him that his parents had offered to still pay his college fees if he came back and married a nice girl and suppressed his “devious ways”. Bradley prays he’ll never meet Jake’s parents because his mom wouldn’t be proud of him for punching a man in his seventies in the face. *** Allison has a crush on Nat, but Bradley knows enough about teenage angst to not tease her about it.Still, he can’t help but bite down on a laugh as the sixteen year old hangs onto every word passing his best friend’s lips where she’s talking to her and Halo down the counter. Bradley grins at his best friend when Allison once again twirls her hair around her finger and answers one of Nat’s questions like it’s the most important thing she’s ever been asked. Nat just glares at him over Allison’s shoulder, protective. Yeah, they’ve all been there. Bradley shudders at remembering some of the things he did when he had a crush on his high school PT teacher. Allison comes to the diner most days after school and Bradley feeds her and her gaggle of friends. They’re all glad she’s made friends so easily, so Bradley deals with the bunch of them falling into excited whispers every time he leaves their table and Nat deals with Allison’s big heart eyes. “Allison,” Bradley calls out and it takes her a moment to realize she’s been addressed. “You got any homework?” Allison groans. “Unfortunately.” Bradley shakes his head fondly. Oh, to only have to do your homework once you get back from school and then have half the day to do whatever you want. Those were the days. Not that teenage Bradley realised that back in the day.He nods to the booth that has come to be known as Jake’s booth. Bradley doesn’t keep it free, but somehow the people frequenting Rooster’s on the regular know to keep it empty. Allison glares at him but Nat sends her an encouraging smile. “If you want to become a lawyer like me, you need to keep up your grades, girl.” Bradley will happily tease her later tonight about sounding like her mother and the warning look Nat sends him won’t keep him from that little joy. Halo nods, the movement exaggerated, when Allison slides her eyes over to her for help. Allison sighs and gives in, sliding her backpack off and pulling it behind her dramatically as she makes her way over to the booth and drops into it with a sigh. “The usual?” Bradley asks her when he makes his way over to her. The lunch rush is over and it’ll take a bit for the dinner crowd to arrive, so he has time to make her her favorite: veggie burger and sweet potato fries. It’s not on the menu, but the menu doesn’t really exist for the Seresins.Allison nods. “Thanks, BradBrad.” Bradley glares at her. “Told you not to call me that.” Allison grins, mischievous. “Maybe stop making me do my homework, then.” “I’m not making you do anything.”“Sure.” She raises an eyebrow, calling him out on his bluff. So what if he wants to spare Jake from another screaming match ending in tears because Allison didn’t feel like putting in the barest effort for school. Sure, she’s smart, but if that doesn’t reflect in her grades, it’ll be harder for her to get into college. Bradley heads to the kitchen and starts on preparing the burger and fries for her. Fanboy is preparing for the dinner crowd and leaves him to it, knowing Bradley is capable enough on the grill himself. Allison receives the plate and milkshake with a distracted ‘thanks’ and Bradley leaves her to it, even though he catches her sliding her phone out from underneath her notebook. He goes into the back and starts on one of his least favorite things – paying bills. He gets into it enough for him to emerge three hours later when Nat comes in and brings him a sub and a coke. His stomach begins growling. “Oh, wow. Thanks. I’m starving.” “Your kitchen is just next door, dumbass.” “Yeah. I just…” He motions at the various bills covering his desk. “Jake’s out front. He asked for you.” Nat doesn’t say anything when Bradley slides his eyes to the door and back to his desk. She smirks knowingly though. “Don’t worry. He’s in work mode. Will stick around for a while.” Bradley doesn’t acknowledge the blush he can feel rise to his cheeks. The ordeal of being known, and such. “How does he look?” A sly grin appears on Nat’s face, but Bradley’s not the only one who has been watching Jake with worry these last few weeks. She sighs. “Like he got more than six hours of uninterrupted sleep last night.” Bradley feels his shoulders relax. “Good.” He picks up the sub and takes a bite but stops chewing when Nat doesn’t leave like he expected her to. He raises an eyebrow, swallowing. “Anything else?” There’s a look on Nat’s face that he doesn’t like. He takes a sip. “When are you getting off your perch and finally ask him out, Bradshaw?” Bradley chokes, coughing as he sets the coke back down. Nat comes around the table to thump his back until he’s got himself under control again.“Don’t think you can keep from answering that question by choking on your sub, bud. Not when you could be choking on other, nicer things. Like Jake’s di––” “Do not finish that sentence, Trace.”Nat cackles. Bradley glares at her, but he knows the shade of red his cheeks must be displaying. The image of getting his mouth on Jake– No. He can’t think about that. The dinner crowd is about to embarge on them and he can’t wait tables with a boner. “Fuck you,” he says, meaning it.“We both know I’m not the one you want to fuck.” Bradley groans. “Seriously, Bradley. I’ve seen you two pining for each other long enough now. One of you has to woman up.” “Don’t you mean man up?” “I know what I’ve said. Men are too dumb for their own good.” Bradley sighs. “You should drop this.” He takes another bite in hope she’ll do like he suggests. Nat shakes her head, squeezing her fists tight like she’d like to rattle him. But she knows when Bradley needs a soft touch. When it comes to Jake, he often does. “Alright. I will, for now. I don’t want your head to explode with how red it is right now. But just know, I saw Brigham sniff around your boy at the grocer’s. Time’s running out, Bradshaw.” Bradley blinks at her. Fucking Brigham Lennox. Basically the most handsome guy in town other than Jake, successful and charming as fuck. Bradley pictures the two of them flirting in the fresh produce section of the only grocery store in town. The picture of them, looking so good together, makes Bradley want to throw things.Bradley knows all about Brigham’s interest in Jake. He had been buying Jake drinks over at Penny’s for the last couple of weeks since he came back from college. He’s a bit on the younger side – too young for Jake, Bradley thinks – but Jake hadn’t declined the drinks. Bradley had seen them laugh over a game of darts one evening as he helped Penny out behind the bar, with most of her crew out of order because of a bug running through town. “Hey,” Nat pulls him from his thoughts. “Just sayin’, Bradshaw. You should get a move on. Jake’s not going to wait forever…” “Nat. We had this talk. If Jake wanted– If he was interested, he would have made it known by now.”Nat groans. She mumbles something under her breath that sounds a lot like “and that’s why I’m a lesbian” before he walks around his desk, taking Rooster’s face between her hands and squeezing his cheeks with more force than necessary. Rooster’s too stunned to do anything but meet her intense eyes. “Ask. Jake. Out.” Then she’s gone, leaving him alone with his sub and too many thoughts rushing his head at once. *** “Bradshaw, I got a question for you.” Bradley looks up from his pad from where he had been taking stock of their cutlery, counting them off one by one. How spoons just disappeared into thin air, Bradley would never understand. “Do you ever take time off work?” Bradley’s heart stars thumping in his chest from one moment to another. He straightens up and sees Halo stop in her tracks where she’s cleaning a table right behind Jake. She meets his eyes over Jake’s shoulder, slowing down in her movements. Bradley glares at her as he tries not to let inner panic take over. Had Nat been right? Had Bradley taken too long and now Jake was about to take the first step?He clears his throat and slides a hand through his curls. His hair feels greasy and he suppresses a cringe. He really should have taken that shower this morning. “On occasion,” he says.Jake smirks. “And you want to tell me that I work too much, huh?” Bradley tilts his head, squinting his eyes a little. As if Jake realises that he opened himself up to another lecture about healthy sleeping patterns, he hurries to say what he actually came over here for. “I need to ask you a favor.” He bites his lip, suddenly looking nervous. Bradley just keeps looking at him, waiting for him to elaborate. The way he can see Halo’s shoulders slump in the corner of his eye, he readjusts his expectations. In all the scenarios he’d come up with on how Jake would ask him out, it never involved asking for a favor. He tries not to feel disappointed as he motions for Jake to continue. He reminds himself that it’s enough to have Jake come to him if he needs help with something. They’re friends, though not the way him and Nat, or Jake and Javy are.“What’s the favor?” “I, uh. I need a ride. Two towns over. Need to pick something up.”Bradley frowns. “Be more mysterious, Seresin.” Jake rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t explain further. “Javy’s out of town this week.” – Bradley hadn’t known that. He’d had appreciated a heads up from the guy that he was on his own keeping an eye on Jake. Not that he was really alone in that. Jake had built a village around himself since his arrival in town. Everyone at Rooster’s liked the guy and would help him out if he needed. But only Javy and him, and occasionally Nat, really kept an eye on him and his sleeping habits – “So can you do it?” Rooster realises he had tuned out. “Sure. When were you thinking?” “Tomorrow. If you can manage, I mean. I guess Wednesday would work as well.” “I can do tomorrow,” Rooster reassures, even though he hasn’t checked in with his staff. The perks of being the owner, and all. It’s a Tuesday though. It’s probably going to be okay. It looks like a weight lifts off Jake’s shoulders. He smiles beatifically and relieved and Rooster’s heart stumbles at the display. He knows Jake is gorgeous, but sometimes he outdoes himself. “That would be great.” Jake’s smile softens and Bradley feels the butterflies in his stomach flutter apart. He’s ridiculous. He’s nearing forty, he shouldn’t be feeling like a twelve-year old talking to his first crush. He clears his throat, scratching behind his ear for a moment. “When do you want me to pick you up?” He doesn’t blush when Halo coughs in the background, nearly choking on a laugh, but it’s a close thing when he realizes how that sounds. “Seven-ish?” “Okay.” Jake knocks on the counter and smiles again. “Thanks, Bradley.” Bradley’s breath hitches. Jake rarely calls him that and it’s a punch to the chest every time he does. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Jake waves goodbye and calls out for Allison on his way out. She scrambles out of his kitchen – when had she sneaked in there? And why couldn’t Seresins read the Staff Only signs he’d hung up? – and sends him a wave too, squeezing through the door Jake’s holding open for her. Jake looks back once more, meeting Bradley’s eyes. He winks, and Bradley looks back down at his pad, not fighting the blush anymore. *** “Jake.” “What.” “Jake. Is this why you’ve been working yourself to death?” “That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” “Ask the bags under your eyes that.” Jake looks away, and Bradley thinks he might have caught a nerve. He pivots, throwing a glance over the car they’re standing next to. “I got a good deal.” “You drive a 1986 Chevette!” Bradley notices too late how Jake’s hackles have raised at the sound of disbelief in his voice. He’s not prepared for the hissed answer. “I couldn’t get her a car for her sweet sixteenth. But I managed to scrounge up the money now, so she’s getting the car. It’s my decision, Bradshaw.” “Jake,” Bradley sighs. “This is– Listen, I know you’re trying to be a good uncle–”“Damn straight, I am.” “–but you don’t need to buy her whole car to do that. You’re doing enough as is! How many hours of sleep did you catch last week? In the last month?” Bradley can feel the frustration in him rise, and he knows himself enough to know that he needs to pay attention to what he says, and how it comes out, if he doesn’t want to piss Jake off further. “Doesn’t matter. I can cool it now.”“She doesn’t even have a job to pay for gas!” He throws up his hands as he looks at the almost brand new car Jake bought for Allison. “Bradley.” It’s a warning and Bradley meets his eyes. “Let it go.” Bradley props his hands on his hips, pursing his lips. If he had known Jake was working his ass off to buy Allison a car, he’d have done something. He could have pitched in and he bet if the others had known, everyone would have put a bit into the pot. But that’s not how Jake operates with these kind ofnthings. Somehow he thinks he has to do it all on his own. Bradley can’t blame him. Being thrown out on the streets at the age of seventeen and making his way on his own has had an effect on him. Bradley can even emphasise, though he only really was on his own for a couple of months until Ice found him and talked some sense into him. He always had Mav and Ice at his back, and he was privileged enough to never have to overwork himself to have money in the bank. Sure, opening Rooster’s was intimidating, and there were days he was overwhelmed and days he thought he’d have to let go of his dream, but he never had to built himself up from nothing like Jake had to. Of course Jake wanted to spare Allison that. He sighs. “She’s going to love it,” he says quietly. Jake lets out a breath, blinking back over to him from where he had also delved into his thoughts. “You think?” “Are you kidding me? She’s so lucky to have you.” Jake swallows. “Yeah, well.”“She can pick up some shifts at the diner for gas money when she needs to.” Bradley offers. Jake watches him. “You don’t need to do that.” “I want to.” Jake looks at him, his eyes flicking back and forth between Rooster and the ground. He takes a deep breath. “I want her to focus on school work.” Bradley huffs out a breath, but gentles his voice. They still need to drive home and he doesn’t want to truly get into an argument with the guy that has both of them seething on their way back. “She’s a grade A-student, Jake. She’ll manage to juggle that with a bit of work at the diner.” Jake pulls out a tooth pick from his pocket and slides his eyes over the car. “I’ll think about it.” “That’s all I ask, Seresin.” *** Jake blinks when he opens the door to Bradley and Nat standing on his porch at 6am in the morning. Bradley notes the stressed lines around his eyes and immediately feels better about planning behind Jake’s back. Jake doesn’t wait for an answer, calling out for Allison over his shoulder, telling her to hurry up. He turns his attention back to them once he hears her shout back. “What are you guys doing here?” Nat huffs and pushes at his shoulder to slide past him. “Allison?” she calls into the house. Jake shakes his head and checks the clock on the wall, leaving the door open for Bradley to follow inside as well. “I don’t know what this is, but we need to be on the road, so if you could just do whatever it is you need to do quickly…” He walks over to the side table and gets his phone and wallet, sliding the car keys from the surface, too. He looks put together, wearing a white button-up and black slacks. The thumping sounds down the stairs announces Allison’s arrival. She’s in jeans and a band shirt, her long dark hair sporting a couple of strands in neon colours and her backpack thrown over her shoulder. “I’m ready!” “Perfect timing,” Nat says, hugging her charge for the day. “Let’s get going, then.” Jake looks up at them from where he’s checking the time on his phone. “What? We’re already late, Nat, you need to take her some other t–” Nat slides her eyes over to him. “Bagman, shut it. Allison and I agreed that I would take her to campus today and show her around.” She waves away Jake’s confused frown. “Obviously, I’m so much cooler than you and this should be a full-on girls’ trip.” She winks at Allison and raises an eyebrow at Jake to get with the program already.Jake throws Bradley a confused look. “What exactly is happening? And what is your part in all this?” Bradley shrugs as Allison runs by him to put on her shoes in the hallway. “Just the reinforcements. And Nat is going to look at colleges with Allison today.” Jake shakes his head. “No, that’s what Allison and I are doing today. It’s–” “You got a request for the full manuscript. Javy spilled.” Nat raises an eyebrow and starts guiding Allison past him to the front door. “So Allison and I are going to have a great day up in Long Beach, and you’re going to use this now-free day to work on polishing that, like we all know you want to do. And let yourself be fed by Mr. Hawaiian Mustache over here.”She stops next to Jake and leans in, lowering her voice. “Congratulations, by the way.” Jake swallows and Bradley watches the flush appear on his neck. “You don’t need to do th–” Nat rolls her eyes and shoves him a little. “And miss out on a girls trip? No way.” She swats at his butt and Jake lets out a surprised, indignant sound. “Now, get to it. Shoo!”She guffaws at Jake’s glare and the next thing they hear is Allison calling goodbye and the front door closing behind the two of them. Jake looks into the half distance and Bradley gives him the space to mentally readjust his plans for the day. He shoves off from where he had settled his butt on the back of Jake’s couch and makes his way into the kitchen. “Have you had coffee yet?” he calls back, not seeing a mug in the sink. Jake’s a neat freak, it could mean either way. He takes a look into the fridge to see what he’s working with and pulls out the egg carton and milk. *** Jake’s bitching and Bradley is enjoying himself immensely. He can understand that having one’s plans fucked with can bring up frustrations and in some cases even anxiety, but Jake’s just bitching for bitching’s sake and that means the free day Nat and Bradley wrangled into his calendar is working its magic. Jake had gotten out the laptop earlier – “You know, inspiration doesn’t just strike like that. Maybe I need to be in a mood to write, have you guys thought about that?” – “Eat your food, Seresin. We both know you have all the writing done and it’s time to edit.” – and has been slowly munching away on the breakfast spread Bradley came up with, sipping his coffee and ignoring Bradley’s presence in his vicinity, getting into it his writer headspace and only coming up for air every couple of hours to bitch again about how “maybe I wanted to show Allison the campus. Just maybe we’re both missing out on some amazing bonding that we had to be doing.”“Allison and you don’t need bonding. You already adore each other.” Jake keeps his living space clean so there’s not really any housework to be done while he “babysits” Jake – Nat had been adamant that someone needed to be there to make sure Jake didn’t just call up one of his bosses to pick up a shift – and so he had picked a random book from Jake’s shelf and had sat down on the sofa, getting immersed enough to be surprised by the timer he had set earlier to get working on lunch. He scraps together a couple of sandwiches, noting to himself that should today be a reoccurent thing, he needed to include a trip to the grocery store beforehand. Jake shuffles into the kitchen on socks, changed into a shirt and sweatpants. His hair is disheveled, like he’s been running his hands through it, and he looks so soft that there’s a knot forming in Bradley’s throat at the sight. This is probably what Jake looks like first thing in the morning. He tingles with the need to drop the lettuce and slide his fingers under Jake’s shirt, curl them around his hip and feel the soft skin covering strong muscle there. He shakes himself out of it. “Taking a break?” Jake hums non-commitedly, holding up his mug. “Need coffee.” “That’s your third cup.” “Will you ever stop counting how many cups of coffee I’m drinking.” “No.” Jake sighs and pulls the jug from the machine. Bradley had brewed a new one, knowing Jake was due to come out of his office soon. “How’s it going?” Bradley asks, fixing the first sandwich and handing Jake the plate when he plops down into his kitchen chair. “I’m a fraud. I don’t know how the English language works. I use em-dashes like no other punctuation exists.” “I think you’re just hungry.” Bradley fixes their sandwiches and slides one in front of Jake, sitting down opposite. He nods at the untouched sandwich when Jake doesn’t start eating. “Thank you… for this.” Jake looks awkward. “Not just the sandwich. The… whole thing, I guess.” Bradley smiles. “Wait until 3pm when I’m supposed to put you down for a nap.” Jake scowls. "I’m in my thirties." “Tell Nat that.” He winks and takes a bite, mentally patting himself on the shoulder for making a delicious sandwich. The slow smirk rising onto Jake’s face should have prepared Bradley for what comes next. “What, Bradshaw? Planning to wrestle me onto a mattress?” Bradley nearly chokes on his bite and starts coughing, lettuce falling out of his mouth unattractively. Jake only laughs as long as it takes for concern to take over when Bradley doesn’t stop coughing. He gets up to get a glass of water and hands it to Bradley, rubbing his back as he slowly gets himself under control. “You’re a menace,” Bradley croaks out between deep breaths once the coughing fit is over.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Nope."
Bradley heads around the counter and intercepts Jake on his way to the back with a stern look and his arms crossed in front of his – unfortunately very firm – chest.
"I‘m just going to look at the squeaky hinge on the–" Jake starts explaining, only to be interrupted again.
"Nope," Bradley repeats and reaches out to take Jake's toolbox from his hands. "I‘m confiscating this."
Jake tightens his grip on the handle, feeling indignance rise at being denied. "You can‘t just steal my things, Bradshaw!" Jake tries walking around Bradley once more, glad that the diner is almost empty this early in the day and only old man Lester is there to witness the little display they make.
"Watch me," Bradley says and pinches the skin on Jake's arm, catching him off guard. Jake's grip loosens and Bradley wrangles the toolbox away from him.
"Ow!"
"Don‘t be a baby." Bradley rolls his eyes and stores the toolbox away under the counter, out of sight. Jake flops onto one of the bar stools and pouts.
This was Plan D on the list he had made up this morning and though it was a risky bet, he had hoped Bradley would take pity on him.
His manuscript is with his publisher. (He still can't believe it's been bought.) His boss at the newspaper told him they had to do lay-offs and didn’t hire freelancers for the moment, and everyone he did odd jobs for around town either doesn’t need his help or is in cahoots with the person looking at him right now, with a cute little frown settled on his face that haunts Jake's nightly dreams.
Now, for once, Jake isn’t hard up for money.
With Allison's car bought and gas paid for with the occasional shifts Bradley lets her pick up – once Jake had agreed to it – and the hefty advance his agent was able to negotiate, for the first time in his life Jake doesn’t need to work to get food on the table.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t
want
to work. He's bored out of his mind.
"I‘m going stir-crazy, Bradley. Just let me look–"
"We need to get you a hobby." Bradley announces, pouring them each a cup of coffee. Jake receives his with a put-upon sigh.
"Says the man that literally lives above his diner and works 16-hour days."
Bradley hands Jake his coffee and rolls his eyes over the rim of his own cup. "I‘m hardly working most days. Perks of being the owner."
"You keep telling yourself that, Bradshaw."
"Alright. Let‘s make a deal. I take the day off and we both–" He gestures into the air like Jake is supposed to know what he means.
"We both?" Jake prompts, stealing a cinnamon roll out from under the lid of the plate with baked goods that sits next to him. Bradley doesn’t comment but holds out his hand for what he calls the 'owner tax'. Jake rips a big chunk off the thing and hands it to Bradley before biting into the pastry with glee.
"I don’t know, we could- uh-" Bradley clears his throat and Jake watches curiously as Bradley's cheeks become a warm, rosy color. He smirks, the sight of Bradley floundering one of his most favorite things.
"The possibilities are endless," Jake snarks good-naturedly, offering Bradley a smug grin when he gets a glare back. While their little town does have all the shops and public buildings that are needed for day to day life, there isn’t much for entertainment other than the beach. Honestly, hanging out at Rooster's and the Hard Deck is as wild as it gets.
An idea seems to hit Bradley. His eyes light up like a little lamp just went off above his head.
"We could go up to Oceanside. Isn't there that little old bookshop you wanted to check out?"
Jake stops ripping apart the cinnamony, doughy, delicious treat for consumption, stunned by the question.
"You remember me telling you that?"
Jake's eyes follow the flush on Bradley's cheeks spreading down to his neck. Jake had mentioned the book shop once in passing, reading about it in the paper. It was owned by a pair of women in their late sixties. He remembers the cute little picture of them in the paper; them in front of their shop. The utter love for each other and their little shop; he could feel it rise off the page.
"We could get something to eat after. Maybe catch a movie." Bradley keeps spinning the idea. "Allison has that sleepover tonight, right?"
"Well, well, well." Jake smirks, stuffing the last of the cinnamon roll into his mouth and licking the sticky glace off his fingers. "If I didn’t know any better I'd think you‘re planning to take me out on a date."
Their eyes lock and their usual flirty mood shifts to something that feels more serious. Jake's heart starts to flutter as he peers at Bradley, the room's silence interrupted by a choking sound coming from somewhere in the kitchen.
Bradley's mouth parts and he licks his lower lip.
"And what if I was?"
Jake's eyes widen. "What?" he rasps.
"Go on a date with me."
"You‘re serious?" Jake asks, slack-jawed. He looks around, expecting Halo or Nat to stand behind him, her phone out and recording like he's on a prank show. Ready to laugh at his expense.
Jake's had a crush on Bradley since the first time he stepped foot into Rooster's. He had just arrived in town, down to his last two dollars and the guy insisted the coffee was on the house.
While Jake slides back into his memories for a moment, Bradley starts to look nervous. "I mean, if you want to." Bradley lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck, sliding his eyes to the side.
"But maybe you don‘t. Which, is fine." Jake blinks back into the moment when Bradley starts to ramble, getting the wrong idea. "We should just forget I said anything–"
"I‘d love to."
"Alright, yes. Cool, cool." Bradley starts tapping the counter like he's playing the drums, one of his nervous habits and Jake's heart does a backflip in his chest when his brain finally catches up and he realizes Bradley is being serious.
"We can just pretend I didn’t just make a fool out of myself and–"
"No," Jake stills Bradley's hand on the counter. "I would love to go out on a date. With you."
"You do?"
Jake nods once, feeling awkward himself now. His smile feels a little wobbly as he confirms. "Yes."
"Oh." Bradley watches him with a soft smile. "That's– Uh. Yeah, let's do that. I just need to–" He points a thumb over his shoulder, walking backwards behind the counter and almost running into his bulky coffee machine.
Jake feels his smile grow and sees Bradley's grow in return. His heart hasn't stopped pumping wildly in his chest.
Halo sticks her head around the kitchen door, making both of them jump with her announcement: "I've got it boss! You guys head out, Mickey and I will hold down the fort." She winks at Jake and slides her eyes over to Bradley to send him a smile that looks smug and… proud?… at the same time.
Bradley lets out a breath and turns back to Jake. He looks up at the ceiling and asks Jake, "Give me a sec?"
Jake just nods, following Bradley with his eyes as he heads into the back. Bradley sends him one last shy smile before he starts up the stairs.
Jake only notices the flush that's crawled up his own neck when he's left to wait and starts feeling his body again.
Halo walks up behind the counter and slides a glass of water in front of him, eyeing him curiously.
"Did that just happen?" he asks her, eyes widening with incredulity. He picks up the water and takes a drink, wetting his parched throat.
"Yup."
"Oh fuck. Wait, how do I look?"
Halo angles her head and squints her eyes, considering him in that detached way she has. "You'll do."
"I‘ll do?" Jake asks, horrified. He looks down himself and curses. He's wearing his oldest pair of jeans and a ratty shirt. He was expecting to fix Bradley's walk-in fridge, not go out on a date with him.
"Relax. The guy just asked you out, I‘m pretty sure he likes the way you look." Halo sounds too reasonable to Jake's taste. Javy would be so much better right now. He'd talk him up. Reassure him.
"So helpful, Halo."
Halo scoffs. "A little help here, Mickey?"
Mickey slides open the serving hatch like he was just waiting for his moment. "I was called?"
"Tell Jake he looks good. He's freaking out. "
"Isn't that Bradley's job?" Mickey replies with a smirk.
"Oh, fuck you guys." Jake slips off the chair and heads over to the little bathroom. There’s a mirror in there and it's gotta do.
"If you play your cards right, Seresin, we won't be the ones you're fuc–" Jake rips open the bathroom door and shoves it closed behind him, Halo's voice getting muffled at just the right time.
He heads over to the sink and looks at himself in the mirror.
Clothes aside, he looks fine. He could use a hair cut but as he brushes his fingers through his thankfully freshly washed strands, they fall into place really nicely. It's small wins, apparently. Though getting a date with Bradley would be counted under the big wins.
He catches sight of the little smile on his face and it widens, his heart stumbling in his chest once more. Bradley Bradshaw asked him out on a date. Him. Jake Seresin.
He feels like he's in a dream.
Jake washes his hands and braces himself for a moment, telling himself to calm down before he heads back outside to find Bradley waiting for him. Bradley has changed into a tee and jeans as well, looking only a little bit more put together than Jake. Jake instantly feels better about his own outfit.
"Thought you were leavin' me hanging," Bradley says, voice low and rumbling.
"No, you didn’t."
Bradley's smile grows softer. "No. I didn‘t."