Quarters In The Laundromat

21 I post once in a while (i don't have the mental strength to be consistent with anything in my life).

[laaundromat]

Comfort Back Home, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw

Summary: As strong as Bradley can be, he feels miserable from time to time. This is the first time he crumbles in front of you.

Short (900ws), cute drabble for baby Bradshaw

Being the best upcoming aviator in the Navy has to be stressful, you think, and yet Bradley had handled it like a champ up until recently.

He’s always done everything by himself, and although behind closed doors he would let frustrated tears out, around people he would always show the confident and happy side of himself.

If not, he still kept himself relatively calm for when he was alone, not wanting to come off as vulnerable to others (mostly Hangman).

But, there’s always a breaking point. Since you had been around him during the deployment at Top Gun with Maverick, and you’d seen him react fairly well (apart from some quieter days and a snapping attitude from time to time), you’d think it would take him a bigger obstacle to completely break down.

And yet, all it took was a minimal fuck up in the air during training, and he’s now knocking on your flat looking like a beaten up puppy, blood-red eyes and shuffled hair. You heart tightens in concern gazing up at him, usually big and strong, looking small in an oversized hoodie that was his father’s.

“Baby…”, you whisper, a hand slowly rising for the instinct of giving him a comforting touch, but stopping midway to check if he’s okay with that. He has the strength to smile at your respect for him as he nods.

When your warm hand makes contact with his burning cheek, he takes a few seconds to close his eyes and the moment the irises disappear, a tear runs down his cheek.

You move in a heartbeat and yet somehow still slowly to not startle him from the bliss he’s feeling now. You keep one hand on his face, while curling the other around his waist to move him inside, and then close the door.

“Bradley,” you try, now both hands on his neck, thumbs overlapping a few stressed veins there. He opens his eyes, and you’re met with a thunderstorm of emotions that make you want to cry out in agony.

You recognize all of it. The pain, the worry, the bad thoughts, the lack of strength, the fear of being so lost and powerless all of a sudden. You know because you’ve experienced that as well. And seeing it on him, recognizing how much pain he’s in right now really destroys you. It’s the last thing you want for him. You want him to be the careless side of him all the time, cocky smiles and silly chokes. You try your best to do your side of what you can, and although you knew at one point it had to happen, it still grumbles your grounds.

You try to think fast, and doing that you can feel a hint of panic starting to make its way inside you. Fearing you’re not what he needs right now because you’re incapable of helping him in this situation, when he needs you the most. You can feel all your insecurities trying to take over you, but Bradley is your priority, his desperate eyes begging you to gain the power he's lost right now. All your memories with him calm you down and, at the same time, give you strength, and you know what to do.

You take off of his shoulder the training bag from work, and then slot your fingers in his hand and slowly, carefully, you bring him in front of the couch and staying there as he sits. He goes to drag you down with him but you restrain, silently asking him with your eyes to trust you with your thing.

You nudge his legs open with your knee and slot in between them, standing a few feet taller in front of him, his head leveled with your chest. Smiling reassuringly, you embrace his neck with both arms and lay his head on your chest, right between your breasts, his nose nuzzling on your right one, and eyes closed in bliss.

You whisper sweet nothings to him. Words of affirmation you know he needs. You tell him how much you missed him during the day. How much you thought of him. How needed he is in your life, how essential he is. You lightly sway left and right, in a silent lullaby, while calling him pet names you know he loves. He takes a few minutes to connect fully after a well deserved, love-ignited black out, and moves fast to wrap his arms around the low of your thighs. You feel his gratitude in the kiss he gives your breast followed by a content smile.

"My Baby," you say blissfully and, at one, he lets all loose.

He cries, tears damping your shirt and you couldn’t care less. you're cooing at him in understanding, though you know they’re not sad tears. They are of relief. He feels like all his worries just disappeared under those words, and he can’t believe it happened after a whole day they weighted on his shoulders.

You both don’t make a sign to move.

“Whenever I am sad, feeling you caging me like this brings me back to Earth. Makes me feel safe, knowing there’s someone bigger than my insecurities believing in me, helping me take those away. I wanted to do it for you too, baby. I’m sorry today was stressful, but I’m bigger than the bad things you thought of yourself throughout today. I am here always, at the end, and I’ll remind you of all the good things you’ve done and felt. And I’ll be with you when you feel like crying to fight for you, yeah?”

He nods against your body, arms tightening around you as few more sleepy kisses are left on the valley of your breasts.

[laaundromat]

Building Love, Steven Grant

Summary: Steven has unconsciously set himself up on a date with his crush.

Literally just a fluffy drabble

He had one single minute of calmness the whole day, when he had just woken up and was still bleary to the world.. from then on, all his composure left him to stumble on his own steps the moment he recalled making plans with you for tonight.

 He felt his teeth clatter in edge every time at the thought of you: with your kind smile and sweet words at him, no matter how many minutes he was rambling at you for. You were striking in an effortless kind of way, a type of simple that warmed his heart, made him feel at peace from all his constant worries. You always succeeded at creating a safe place for him, even unknowingly.

 Today though, no matter how hard he thought back to the way you would caress his forearm whenever he profusely apologized for spiraling through Egyptian trivia, his nerves couldn’t find peace. The matter at hand felt more final than any other meet-up you two had. 

 Before today, it had always been about causally running into each other, to gradually spend more time together by sitting in the nearest bakery or simply walking around with no end in mind. He had grown into his real self around you without even noticing, and, when he did, it had been Marc to point it out. 

(He blushed beet red at the realization, and said nothing to quiet the other two’s snickers).

 And maybe, he reasoned with himself now, he had let himself become too comfortable around you.. ‘cause in no way had he thought he was able to ask you out without pouring his blazing hot coffee onto you, and maybe unconsciously insulting you in the process as well.

 All the way through the morning he had fought with both Jake and Marc, stating not so firmly that it was in no way an actual date, just a more planned meet up than your usual. 

 Though, the pair had very believable arguments and in no time Steven was having a nervous breakdown thinking of all the possible ways he could fuck the date into pieces.

 He thought of cancelling it, of even standing you up, but Jake had him thinking of your sad eyes and wobbling lips if so, and the notion didn’t last long.

 Sure, you knew most of him by now.. you knew his favorite aspects and periods of ancient history; you knew he had trouble sleeping (and not by his own accord of telling you, but by how observant of him you were); you knew how he liked both his tea and coffee; you knew he liked all kinds of plants, but didn’t have the time or patience to keep some in his apartment; you knew he was wary around the topic of family, and you knew he had a special soft spot for his one-finned fish. But the biggest part of him was meant to be kept hidden, and he didn’t know how far he could go with you.

 Marc and Jake weren’t fully on board with his crush on you, thought a relationship would complicate things, what with their personal and “work” situation, though they didn’t find it in themselves to do much more than scolding him the moment he had asked you on tonight’s date. Secretly, you were beginning to grow on them as well, and it was scarier than anything else they experienced in some time, funnily enough. 

(Marc was most wary about Steven’s quick fondness for you, and how he was going to end up brokenhearted, inevitably).

 He got cleaned and dressed ridiculously early, with the nicest black pants the three of them owned, plus a white shirt and black jacket combo. On his way he stopped at a small shop and bought you a heart shaped box of your favorite chocolates, and from then on there was no coming back, and he was really hoping you did think of it as an official date.

 He was purposely ten minutes early, a small tangent of time he could use to calm himself down, but as he rounded the corner he saw you already there, beautiful under a light pole, gnawing at your rosy lips and holding a paper bag in your slightly trembling hands. 

 He had never been so nervously happy to see you. 

You hear his tentative steps when he’s closer, and the way your face brightens at the sight of him makes all three of them melt in the chilly weather.

 “Steven!” You breath out softly, but eager nonetheless, and in no time he has your arms around his chest, heart beating under it.

“ ‘ello, love..”

He had to hold himself back from placing a gentle kiss on your temple when he felt your cheeks puffing up with a smile at his voice.

When you part, his arms are awkwardly stretched in front of you, hands carefully handing you the pink box.

“They’re your favorite.. I thought I’d stop by to get them for you.. there was also a really cute Taweret plushie that I wanted to buy you, but it was kinda big and I didn’t want you to have to bring it everywhere tonight.. would’ve been inconvenient, y’know..”

He’s a rambling mess already and you’ve yet to say more than three words to him, but as Jake was about to soothe him with encouraging words you beat him to it by extending a hand on his forearm, grip tight enough to ground him and a gentle ‘thanks’ right on tow. He decided right then, that it was his favorite gesture to ever receive yet.

Yet in mere seconds, your face was mirroring his from just moments prior, a sheepish glance above red cheeks that you were trying to dissipate in him.

“Yeah I- I got you something, too, actually. But, erm, it’s breezy out here, no? I made a reservation at a place right around the corner. I couldn’t find a wholly vegan restaurant, but I checked the menu for you and there is a big choice, so I hope it’s fine for you. My friend told me it’s good, so I’m relying on her!”

On the way, he walked purposely close enough to touch shoulders with you at every step, a feeble attempt to calm you down from the spiral of word you weren’t in control of.. no matter how endearing it was.

Inside the restaurant, you were sat across from him with fairy lights all around you creating a halo above your head. He realized he was about to fall in love with you, and he didn’t have the energy to find what wrong could come with it.

“Here,” you placed the infamous paper bag in front of him. “I hope you like it.. there’s no return policy for it.”

He chuckled with a shaking head, now almost fully relaxed, “I’m sure I’ll love it, sweetheart.”

(Too caught up with opening the wrap around it, he didn’t notice the way you blushed from the nickname).

Inside, there was a Lego flower bouquet, bright and warm and just so you… but at his slight silence, you launched forward, hands on the table, apologetic in you expressions.

“I thought- with this being a first date I’d bring flowers but I know how you struggle to keep them with your sleep schedule and so I thought it could be something you keep in your apartment instead of real ones.. I’m sorry if it’s childish I-“

He gently, with shaky hands, placed your gift on the table (wrapper folded neatly under it) to slide off the boot and approach you with tentative steps, eyes wide open in wonder.

Marc and Jake were quiet in his head, torn between either take some bricks away from the built up wall, or make it even thicker. To themselves, it was useless to deny the attraction towards you, but they had swore to not let it become anything more. But how could they, when you’re seated there, timid smile and hopeful eyes shot at them, treating their Steven right as he deserves, giving him a reason to gain more confidence in himself.

How could they, when you were melting inside Steven’s thankful hug, and they could feel your slow breathing under their palms.. and for a minute love felt possibile to pursue.