Bradley's Girl
Robert "Bob" Floyd x Reader -or- x OC
'Bradley's long-time crush might end up having eyes for someone else.'
Word Count: 4,200
Read on AO3
Notes: Can be read as a reader insert or an unnamed AFAB OC. No use of y/n. Will be multi-chapter.
Chapter 1
Bradley should’ve been in a sour mood. He had performed poorly today - everyone had - but his positivity lit up the locker room as the other men licked their wounds and babied sore muscles.
“What the hell could you possibly be so giddy about?” Jake growled, rolling his shoulders.
“Nat just confirmed that a certain someone will be in town this weekend,” Bradley announced. “And she’s meeting us tonight at the bar.”
The men exchanged confused looks with one another.
“Her friend, from college?” Bob probed, curious. “The one you’re always talking about?”
“Oh, so she actually exists?” Fanboy interjected as he pulled his shirt over his head. “Not gonna lie, Rooster, we thought you had made her up.”
“Yeah it was definitely giving a ‘my girlfriend lives in Canada’ vibes,” Payback sniggered to his backseater’s delight.
“I just thought you were in the closet and this was your excuse for not hitting on girls,” Javy added with even more laughter from the group.
Bradley, unphased, confirmed Bob’s question. “Yeah, that’s the one. Haven’t seen her in almost a year but I’m telling you, we had a thing going. Gonna pick up right where we left off.”
“You’re pathetic Rooster,” Jake replied. “Waiting around for some chick. She better be an incredible lay at least.”
“We’ll find out,” Bradley smiled.
“Wait..you haven’t even banged this girl and you’re acting like this?!” Jake barked, exchanging looks with the other equally surprised pilots.
“She’s not some tag chaser, Hangman. She’s a lady.”
Bob smiled to himself at Rooster’s dreamy demeanor juxtaposed to the disgusted scowls of his incensed comrades.
“Sounds like a prude,” Jake huffed. “You’d never catch me simping for some chick who doesn’t put out.”
Bob nearly made the fatal mistake of commenting about the value of getting to know a person before jumping into bed with them, but quickly remembered the company he was currently keeping and kept his mouth shut.
Fortunately, he had a fellow romantic in his midst who wasn’t afraid to voice his unpopular opinion.
“Call me crazy, but I actually respect women,” Bradley said over the groans of the peanut gallery. “And this one is something different. You’ll see when you meet her tonight.”
“Great, can’t wait to meet your cold fish, Rooster,” Jake sighed. “Sounds like she’s barrels of fun.”
“Looking forward to meeting her Bradley,” Bob added with a bit of positivity that was rewarded with a smile from his friend. “She sounds like an interesting person from what you and Natasha have said about her.”
Bradley patted him on shoulder as he passed by, heading to the showers.
“I expect you all to be on your best behavior!” he said, pointing at the other men before disappearing behind the swinging door.
“Yeah, we’ll show her what a real man looks like,” Jake shouted after him, pumping the air with his hips as the others bellowed in hilarity.
Bob discreetly rolled his eyes. He knew none of the other guys would stand a chance at stealing Bradley’s girl despite their posturing. From the little that Bob knew about her, she seemed like a respectable, accomplished woman, not unlike Natasha. It was no mystery why the two women were such close friends and Natasha had nothing but good things to say about her.
Bob first became aware of Bradley’s girl -or rather, Natasha’s friend - several months ago when he was showing his frontseater some photographs he had taken of the sunrise while they waited in the ready room before training.
“Wow,” she commented. “Those are great. Too bad we can’t have professional photography equipment up there. My friend is a photographer and I’d love to take her up in the jet so she can get some unreal shots.”
“Is it her hobby or does she make a living off it?”
“Oh, she’s the real deal,” Nat said, pulling out her phone and tapping through to an Instagram profile with thousands of followers. “She’s worked with National Geographic, the BBC, tons of stuff. Wildlife and nature photography.”
Bob took Natasha’s phone and scrolled through a stream of breathtaking shots of the furthest reaches of the planet. Colossal glaciers, craggy sea cliffs, endless deserts. Exotic animals from every biome.
“She’s very talented,” Bob commented in awe, “and very well traveled.”
“Yeah, that is one of the best parts about her job,” Natasha said. “We’re both all over the world at any given time and it’s great when the stars align and we can meet up when I’m on leave and she’s in the same region so we can get up to our usual shenanigans.”
From there Natasha recounted how they had met in college and kept up their friendship even after Natasha had gone off to flight training and eventually active duty with the Navy. Natasha had even introduced her to some of her Navy friends over the years, including Bradley.
While Natasha had never mentioned it, apparently Bradley and her friend had hit it off and now he had eyes only for her. He spoke of her often. Bob was legitimately looking forward to meeting the woman he had heard so much about in passing and he was happy for Bradley at having found someone so intriguing. He hoped the relationship would work out despite the competing responsibilities of both their professions.
So, a few short hours later, at the Hard Deck, Bob was finally going to be able to put a face to the name he had heard so much about.
It was like any other Friday night at their local haunt. Everyone in their service khakis, letting off some steam after a hard week. The competitiveness, the shit talking, the good natured teasing, the only difference being that Natasha was absent and Bradley was a bundle of nerves, glancing at the door every few seconds.
“Looks like you’ve been stood up,” Jake remarked, lining up a shot on the pool table and taking full advantage of Bradley’s frayed nerves.
“Nah,” Bradley dismissed, still checking his phone for the umpteenth time. “Pheonix would’ve texted if they weren’t making it.”
Bob nursed his coke, hoping Bradley was right.
“Maybe she met a guy on the way here who actually has some balls,” Jake teased.
“Or maybe Phoenix knows she’s not actually into you and doesn’t want to make it awkward,” Javy joined in with a swig of his beer.
“You assholes can talk all you want,” Bradley snapped back. “Our connection was unreal. I’m telling you, she’s the one.”
Bob smiled in agreement and glanced over his shoulder just as his frontseater walked through the door with another woman. His smile faded to a slack-jawed expression as the two made their way through the crowd toward the pool tables.
“See!” Bradley said, stepping forward. “Told you she’d be here.”
Bob and the rest of the group watched as Bradley met the two women by the bar. He gave Natasha’s friend a hug and a kiss on the cheek before gesturing back toward Bob and the others.
The three approached as Natasha introduced her friend to each of the aviators in turn.
The instagram profile that Nat had shown him hadn’t included any personal photos so Bob was unaware of what Nat’s friend looked like. He had assumed, of course, that she was attractive. The female equivalent in looks to Bradley, who, Bob wasn’t too insecure to admit, was a very handsome man.
But Bob was not expecting her to be, well…quite so his type.
The thought jarred him. He had no right to be looking at another man’s love interest and rating her on his own preferences. She couldn't be his type because she wasn’t his in the first place.
Over the months of being in the company of the dagger squad Bob had seen no shortage of drop-dead-gorgeous women pursue and be pursued by the pilots and flight officers he called friends. He was a man, he could appreciate the beauty of women, but he never coveted the attention those women had paid to the other men nor resented those same men for receiving it.
For whatever reason, this was different. Bob suddenly felt the sickening twinge of envy.
When his turn came, Bob hopped off his stool to shake her slim hand, introducing himself as calmly as he could manage.
“Oh! You fly with Nat!” she exclaimed with a bright smile. “I recognize you from her photos.”
“You do?” Bob asked, gobsmacked. He didn’t know Phoenix posted any photos of him, but he was also social media illiterate so he shouldn’t be too surprised either.
“Yeah, I’ve posted a few photos here and there,” Natasha confirmed. “Nothing embarrassing, don’t worry Bob.”
“He’s embarrassing enough in real life,” Jake said, stepping to his side. “Hi, I’m Jake. Nice to meet you. I’m sure Nat and Rooster have told you all about me.”
“They haven’t actually,” she remarked, killing Jake’s grin and making Bob’s grow. “Are you new to the team?”
Bob watched her deadpan delivery matched with the barest crinkle of amusement at the corner of her eyes and knew immediately that she was trolling Jake.
Jake, missing the small cues entirely, recoiled in offense. “Sweetheart, I am the team,” he postured. “Really? You never mentioned me?” Jake looked at Natasha with something between hurt and annoyance.
“Must’ve slipped my mind,” Natasha replied with a coy glance at her friend.
“Anyway,” Bradley interrupted, eager to get his girl away from Jake before he could sabotage the reunion. “We’ve got some catching up to do. Come on Nat, you can buy us a round.”
The three made their way to the bar as Bob’s gaze trailed after them.
“You got to admit,” Javy said once the trio were out of earshot. “She’s kind of hot. I can see why Rooster is obsessed with her.”
The other men nodded in agreement as they got back to their game of pool, save one.
“Yeah, she’s hot but she’s not that hot,” Jake said, dismissively. “Wouldn’t kick her out of bed but I wouldn’t be taking an oath of celibacy like he has.”
Bob had to disagree. He’d take all kinds of oaths for a woman like that…
He had to internally chastise himself again for having inappropriate thoughts about a woman he barely knew and who was already ear-marked for another man. She was none of his business.
“Well, I hope he’s able to seal the deal while she’s in town,” Fanboy remarked. “Dude’s been waiting long enough.”
The typical bullshitting continued, Bob only leaving his stool to take his shot before retreating back to his perch to continue half-listening to Fanboy rattling off on his ranking of various streaming services. When he knew nobody was looking, he cast glances over at the bar where Natasha and her friend laughed alongside Bradley, no doubt recounting some mischief that they had all gotten into overseas. Bradley had an arm flung casually over the back of her chair.
“So have you watched it?” Fanboy’s voice suddenly came back into Bob’s orbit.
“Sorry…have I watched what?” Bob apologized, turning back to his fellow wizzo.
“Dude, I’ve just been telling you about that new prison drama on Netflix for the past five minutes. Where the hell have you been?”
“Sorry, yeah,” Bob pretended to know what Fanboy was talking about. “Um, not really a genre that I follow. I usually watch other stuff on Netflix.”
“Like what?” Fanboy asked, interested, and Bob suddenly felt bad for having ignored their entire conversation.
“Uh, I don’t know…documentaries and things like that…”
“Jesus,” Jake cut in as he waited for Javy to make his shot. “And here I thought you couldn’t be any more fucking lame.”
Fanboy ignored Jake and asked, “Cool, which ones have you watched? I’ll add them to my queue.”
Bob kicked his brain back into gear and listed a few programs that he could think of off-hand. Fanboy tapped away on his phone as he spoke.
“What was that last one?”
“Our Planet, similar to the others. I think they’re all produced by the same studio.”
“They are,” a female voice interjected.
Bob and Fanboy both jumped in their stools. Bob sat up straight and alert when he saw who was speaking to them.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,” Natasha’s stealthy friend apologized. Unnoticed by Bob and Fanboy, the trio of friends had rejoined the group at the pool table. “I just heard you speaking about Our Planet. I actually shot for them for a few weeks a couple years back.”
“Really?!” Bob said, impressed. “I must have watched that series a hundred times. Where did you film?”
“Iceland, for the episode about coasts,” she answered, clearly delighted to be speaking with someone who was familiar with her work. “There’s actually a post credit scene about us filming nesting puffins using a drone. I’m in it. I don’t speak but you can see me on the film crew.”
“I remember that episode,” Bob said in wonder. “I’ll have to look back and see if I can spot you.”
“Check for my name in the credits too. Probably the highlight of my life will be having my name on the same list of Sir David albeit many many lines further down,” she laughed.
“If I were ever credited alongside Sir David I’d be printing them out and wallpapering my house,” Bob confessed, matching her laughter.
“Who’s Sir David?” Bradley asked, coming up to stand beside them.
“Sir David Attenborough, the broadcaster and naturalist,” Bob replied, a bit stunned that he had to explain who the man was.
“Even I know that,” Fanboy laughed. “He’s been in a million documentaries and shows about nature for decades.”
“Not really into that science shit,” Bradley shrugged before turning to his friend. “Want another drink?”
“Sure, why not,” she replied.
Bob and Fanboy waved off his similar offer before Bradley made his way back to the bar. Natasha took his place beside her friend.
“Not surprised to see you found your way to the backseater section,” Natasha winked. “Wizzos are the fucking nerds of Naval aviation. You’ll have a lot in common.”
“We’re the brains to the frontseaters’ brawn,” Fanboy proclaimed. “They’re all just good looks and adrenaline.”
Natasha narrowed her eyes at Fanboy in mock reproach while her friend considered him and Bob.
“I don’t think good looks are restricted to the front seat,” she said as she took a sip of the dredges of her cocktail.
“Ah, stop it,” Fanboy said. “You’re gonna make us blush.”
Bob was acutely aware that he was starting to do just that.
“Flying isn’t everything,” Natasha added.
“True,” her friend agreed. “Penguins don’t fly and I’ve never met a penguin I didn’t like.”
“Have you met many?” Fanboy asked, mystified.
“A few. Mostly the smaller species outside of Antarctica. I recently saw some fairy penguins in New Zealand.”
“No way, really? Those are my favorite,” Bob blurted out before he could stop himself. “I mean, from photos. I’ve never had the honor of meeting one.”
“I like the big ones,” Fanboy said. “King penguins? Is that what they’re called?”
“Kings are big but Emperors are bigger,” Bob replied.
“Damn, didn’t know penguins had a whole ass dynasty!” Fanboy laughed.
“I’m partial to the macaroni penguin myself,” Natasha’s friend said as Natasha shook her head in mirth at the direction of the conversation.
“Great haircuts,” Bob commented. “Hard to top that.”
The small laugh and genuine smile that she rewarded him with nearly made Bob’s heart stop.
“What are we talking about?”
Everyone turned to Bradley as he arrived with drinks for the girls.
“Penguins. What’s your favorite type?” Natasha asked as she took her drink.
“There’s different types?” Bradley asked, confused.
“About 20,” his friend informed him. “That’s the dream; go to Antarctica to see as many different species in one trip as possible.”
Bradley quirked an eyebrow. “Antarctica is the dream?”
“Yeah, kinda.”
“I don’t know, man,” Bradley grimaced. “I’ve been to Afghanistan and that was enough rocks and nothingness for me. Can’t imagine going to a place that’s even worse on that front.”
His friend shrugged. “I think it would be fascinating.”
Bob was about to agree that he too thought it would be fascinating but he decided it was wiser to keep his opinions to himself. Bradley’s indifference took the wind out of the sails of the conversation and the group busied themselves with watching Jake and Payback bicker over a technicality on the pool table. Bob was keenly aware of the presence of the woman standing next to him. He wanted to engage her again, pester her with questions and - if he was being honest with himself - bask in her attention. If she was any other woman at the bar he might do just that, but Bradley was a constant reminder that Bob had to maintain a polite social distance.
To sever the urge he excused himself to get another coke at the bar. He should probably just leave, he thought, as it was getting late and there really wasn’t any reason for him to stay. But a stubborn part of him quelled the thought. There’s no harm in conversation, he reminded himself. Especially if he didn’t force it.
By the time he returned to the dagger’s territory at the back of the bar the conversation between the three friends and the rest of the group had started to flow again and a new game was set. He took up a cue and got into the fun of it. Natasha’s friend was a terrible shot, but she was a good sport about it, and Bob appreciated having another individual present who wasn’t so hyper competitive. Bradley tried his best to tutor her but his efforts didn’t pay off, which seemed to bother him more than it did her.
Before they knew it the bell for the last call rang.
“I can just get a taxi.”
“No,” Natasha said to her friend, who apparently was staying a bit away from North Island. “You’ll be waiting here forever at closing. Just stay in my room. The couch is…well, it’s not comfortable but it’s a place to sleep.”
“I can drive you,” Bob offered as both women looked up at him. “Sorry, I just overheard your conversation…but I drove tonight and haven’t had a drink. I can drop Nat and some of the guys off at the base down the street and then go wherever.”
Natasha exchanged a look with her friend. “I’d kind of like to sleep in my own bed,” she laughed. “I’m sure your couch is great, Nat, but…”
“Go on!,” Natasha permitted. “You can trust that Bob won’t steal you. Right Bob?”
Natasha gave Bob a pointed look that reminded him that sometimes his frontseater had the uncanny ability to read his mind.
“Yeah, no, I never steal,” Bob said awkwardly, making the two women laugh.
They went about collecting their group and before long Bob and the others were piling into his car, elbowing each other for space.
“Turn on the radio,” Bradley asked from the backseat. He was already three sheets to the wind and wanted his karaoke moment.
Bob flipped through the stations until Bradley commanded him to stop on classic rock. Before Bob even left the parking lot Bradley, Natasha and Fanboy were happily shouting out the lyrics to a Bon Jovi ballad from the backseat. Bob gave an apologetic smile to Natasha’s friend but she smiled back and shrugged as if to say ‘I’ve seen this all before’.
Bradley leaned over the center console to turn up the volume and shouted, “I can’t hear you two singing!”
“Trust me,” his friend said. “You don’t want to hear me sing!”
“And I’m trying not to crash this car!” Bob laughed, eyes on the road.
Bradley groused but retreated to the backseat to take up the chorus with the rest. Over the ruckus Bob heard his passenger say “I’m not nearly drunk enough for this!”
He laughed again, understanding completely. Mercifully, the drive back to base was short and soon the majority of his passengers were falling out of the backseat, ready to call it a night.
“Drive safe,” Natasha said. “And text me if you want brunch this weekend!”
“Will do!” her friend responded.
Bradley, drunk and dreamy eyed, squeezed her shoulder as he exited the vehicle. “Don’t be a stranger. You’ve been away too long.”
“I won’t. Night Bradley,” she smiled. “Nice meeting you Mickey.”
The three made their way back to their housing as Bob turned his car about. His passenger turned down the radio to a whisper of what it had been before. He was grateful for the change; there was only so much dad rock he could handle at 2 a.m.
“Thanks again for driving me home,” she said. “I know it’s probably the last thing you want to be doing at this time of night.”
“No problem at all,” Bob replied sincerely. “I’m used to it. I’m usually DD by default anyway.”
“You never drink?”
“I do sometimes,” he explained, “but not usually at Navy bars and not with a bunch of other aviators. It’s just a recipe for disaster for me.” Bob didn’t want to elaborate, but had been burned one too many times letting his guard on a night out with other Navy guys.
“I know what you mean about Navy bars. Nat and I usually end up in at least one wherever we happen to meet up in the world and it’s usually a shitshow,” she laughed. “Don’t get me wrong - it can be fun, but good lord do some of you guys go hard.”
Bob laughed in agreement as he navigated his way onto the freeway. “Is that how you met Bradley? When you and Nat met up abroad?”
Bob didn’t look but he knew she was nodding.
“Natasha was on tour in the Mediterranean and took leave with some other officers in Malta. I met her there, just as a little vacation before we both had to get back to work. Bradley was in her group.”
Bob knew that he shouldn’t needle the topic but he couldn’t help himself. “He talks about you a lot,” he said, trying to keep his voice neutral.
“Yeah?” her voice was equally neutral, much to Bob’s surprise. “He’s a good guy and it ends up that we have some common ground with our upbringing. Sometimes it’s nice to meet someone who just gets it.”
Bob wasn’t sure what to make of that information but he certainly wasn’t going to urge her to share more if she wasn’t willing to volunteer it.
“You seem like you’re all really close,” she commented. “Despite the ragging - which I guess is typical. And I’ve never known Nat to actually like her backseater so much.”
Bob laughed at that. “We’ve been through a lot together. And I’m glad to hear that Natasha isn’t complaining about me behind my back!”
“No, she has nothing but good things to say about you.”
“Well, I have nothing but good things to say about her too,” Bob smiled. “I know some guys give her flack for being a woman in the cockpit of a fighter jet but she’s hands down the best pilot I’ve ever flown with.”
She was pensive for a moment. “I’ve heard some of the comments other Navy men have made about her over the years and there’s more than a few that wouldn’t want her or any woman as their pilot.”
“They’re idiots,” Bob replied with zero humor. “Their egos won’t let them admit that a woman might be better than them at anything. You find a lot of that in the Navy unfortunately, and aviation is the worst for it. But that didn’t stop Nat from becoming the best of the best.”
“That would make you the best of the best too. As her backseater, right?”
Bob, while willing to espouse the talents of his frontseater all day every day, still had a bit of difficulty acknowledging his own aptitude.
“Well, maybe,” he stumbled. “I guess, kind of. I’m up there.”
She huffed with amusement, “You have to be the most humble fighter pilot I have ever met.”
Bob shrugged. “Well, I’m not a pilot. I’m just a flight officer.”
She hummed and Bob heard her shift in the seat beside him. He glanced over and her tired eyes met his for a brief, intense moment.
“She’s right. You really aren’t like the others, are you?”
If Bob’s reflexes weren’t honed so sharp by his profession he would’ve swerved off the road. The words themselves said little, but the way she said them… he felt like she saw him, and for someone who was so often overlooked, it was an intoxicating feeling.
He did his best to compose himself back to neutrality.
“I…I just try to be who I am, I suppose, and nothing else.”
Bob could hear her smile and the tired sigh that followed as she relaxed into his passenger seat. He did his damndest to regulate his heartrate as he pulled into her neighborhood and parked in front of her apartment.
“Thanks again,” she said, collecting her things. “I really mean it. This was way better than sleeping on Nat’s couch.”
“I didn’t mind at all,” Bob replied. “Hopefully I’ll see you around.”
“I hope so too,” she said, jumping out of his car and giving a little wave.
He returned the wave and waited until she made it safely into her apartment. He pulled his car into the nearest driveway and turned around, knowing he was totally, completely and unquestionably screwed.
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