love grows where my rosemary goes

Ever since the three of them had worked out their shit in the aftermath of the dagger squad mission, Nat and Bradley have learned a lot about Jake. Namely, that Jake’s birthday doesn’t hold the best memories for him. That Jake’s arrogant, asshole-ish personality is a carefully crafted shield hiding scars from a not-so-perfect life.

So the two of them had vowed to help make better memories for Jake, to prove that they love him and he is deserving of their love.

And it starts with his birthday.

“Nat, where are you taking me?”

“Out,” she replies, eyes focused on the road ahead of her.

“Out where?”

“Out.”

“Really, Trace?”

“Oh c’mon Jake, it’s your birthday. Let me take my man out for a little surprise.”

Jake rolls his eyes in the passenger seat, but the blush spreading across his cheeks reveals his pride at being called her man.

“You know I don’t like surprises, right?”

“Good thing this isn’t a surprise then. We’re going to the beach for some brunch, a little food, a little coffee, some good sea air and sunshine. Sound alright to you?”

Jake sighs, pretending to be put out, and nods.

They don’t drive for long before Nat’s whipping the truck into a parking spot across from Mav’s favorite cafe, the one he’d introduced them to after the mission. Jake feels himself relax more, looks around the street to see if a familiar Bronco is hiding out somewhere, Bradley possibly beating them to the cafe.

“Rooster inside already?” he asks Nat as she pockets the keys.

“No…he’s got something else going on. We’ll see him later,” she says, dodging his eyes as they cross the street.

Jake doesn’t ask anymore questions, just files it away and tries to enjoy the time with Nat, their breakfast together.

He lets the conversation flow between them, as if it were any other day and Nat seems content to do the same.

Until the check comes and she deftly wrestles it away from him to pay. “Birthday boys do not pay for brunch, that supersedes any southern manners you’re gonna try to throw at me, Seresin.”

“Fine, fine,” he gives in, hands up in surrender. “But that’s all I better be getting. You know I don’t like a big fuss.”

“Uh huh. Sure,” Nat replies, not meeting his eyes, scanning the check with more scrutiny than normal, not letting on that Bradley is currently at their home with Payback, Fanboy, Bob, and Coyote putting together a big fuss. A big, surprise fuss for Jake that they’ve painstakingly planned and kept secret for weeks.

“Convincing, Trace.”

“Oh shut it, Seresin,” she throws back. “Let the people who love you celebrate you, okay?”

And Jake backs off at that, knows that Nat means it and that he’s powerless against her when she mentions she loves him. That both her and Bradley love him. Its not been the easiest thing to accept for him, but he’s working on it and they’re constantly reminding him how true it is.

—

At that same moment, Bradley Bradshaw is at their shared apartment thinking he must really love Jake Seresin to be going through this much trouble to set up a birthday party.

He’s shepherding Javy in the door, the other man weighed down by bags of food, while Fanboy and Payback are supposedly working together to put up streamers and a birthday banner. Bradley hasn’t seen a birthday party like this since his own when he was a young boy, when Mav and his mom would decorate the house and invite their friends and his, trying to fill the day with so much joy to distract them from the presence of the one person who couldn’t be there.

But today’s not about him, it’s about Jake. About making good birthday memories for Jake and celebrating him. It’s the first birthday they’ve been together for, him, Jake, and Nat. He wants it to be special, to make sure Jake knows he’s loved, immensely.

So he’s shepherding their friends and hosting them while Nat distracts Jake, keeps him out of the apartment until the afternoon when everyone will be here and hiding amongst the furniture and decorations, when there’ll be enough food to feed a fleet of pilots and enough alcohol to drown them. It’s probably too much food and drink, but Bradley doesn’t care. It’s for Jake. So they’ll have some of everything and let loose.

“Hey, Rooster,” he hears Javy call out, “where should I put the ice? The freezer’s full man!”

“We’ve got a cooler on the porch, stick it there!” Bradley says, moving towards the kitchen to help out, direct traffic, and relatively reign in the chaos.

It’s Jake’s birthday after all, there’s bound to be more than a little chaos.

—

“Okay Nat, you’ve dragged me all along the pier, can we please just go home? I’ve had about every free birthday treat you can get.”

She checks her watch, then her phone. Bradley hasn’t texted that everything’s ready yet, but it’s closing in on four, when they’d told everyone they’d be pulling off the surprise.

“Nat, you good?”

“Yup!” She whips her head up and plasters on a smile. “I’m great, everything’s great.”

Jake arches an eyebrow, clocking the tightness at the edge of her smile. “Sure about that?”

“Mhmm,” she says, tapping on her phone. “I’m just…making sure Bradley’s done with his errand. I don’t want us to go home and he’s not there. Would be weird, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jake responds slowly. “What errand did he have to run today?”

“Uh,” Nat stalls, eyes wide, “I don’t think he told me.” It comes out more like a question. Jake’s eyes narrow, catching the lie.

“Nat, cmon, what’s really going on?”

“Bradley’s at the apartment but I don’t know if he’s ready for us to come home.” A half truth is better than nothing, the surprise party is still a surprise, she can make it through this.

“Uh uh,” Jake drawls.

And before she can say anything else, before she has to come up with another lie or half truth, her phone chimes and it’s Bradley texting her the all clear. She lets out a breath and looks up at Jake, smile bright and absent of any tightness.

“He’s all done, so let’s hop-to birthday boy.”

Jake just follows her, a little confused but willing to roll with it. He knows there’s probably something for him at the apartment, something Bradley’s been working on since he and Nat left five hours ago, but he’s willing to play along for his partners.

The drive back isn’t too long, thankfully. It doesn’t leave Jake with enough time to overthink what he’ll be walking into, what Bradley could have been up to for all this time.

Before he can get too lost in thought, Nat is parking the truck in the complex’s parking lot, which doesn’t look any more full than usual.

“Stop looking for hints, Jake,” Nat says as they get out. “There’s nothing going on.”

“Fine, fine,” Jake concedes, closing his door and following her to the steps up to their apartment. “There’s nothing going on, just Rooster waiting for us at home.”

“Exactly. Just Rooster, and some food. Nothing special or fussy for the birthday boy.”

And then she opens the door to a dark apartment and Jake frowns as he crowds into the doorway behind her. “I thought you said Rooster was-”

“SURPRISE!”

The shout and lights suddenly flicking on do not startle a scream out of Jake Seresin, absolutely not.

“Happy birthday, Jake,” Nat says, smiling at him.

“Happy birthday, baby,” another familiar voice says, pulling Jake’s attention to Bradley, right by the doorway, camera in hand, wide smile spread across his face. “Hope you like your surprise.”

Jake looks around the room, sees familiar faces smiling at him, all their friends and coworkers, this strange little family they’ve cobbled together, and they’re all here for him. Javy’s smiling at him, beer already in hand, and Jake just shakes his head.

“Running an errand? Fixing something in the apartment? Really, Nat?”

“Hey, it’s not easy lying to you or pulling this off! You are notoriously not fussy about your birthday and we just wanted to-”

She’s cut off as Jake grabs her for a kiss, pressing his lips firmly against hers. As the surprise wears off, she wraps her arms around his neck, lets him take her weight.

“Thank you,” he says, pulling back. “Thank both of you.” He looks over her head and she can tell from the heat at her back that Bradley’s behind her. Jake leans in to kiss him, trapping her inbetween them.

“Happy birthday, Jake. Hope it’s a good one.”

“It’s a great one.”

“Then it was worth it, wrangling these idiots we call friends.”

Sometimes, she curses the day she met both of them in flight school. Sure, their friendship made the long, hot days in Pensacola more bearable and entertaining, but then they started coming to her separately to whine and moan about the other.

Five years of this bullshit later, Natasha Trace is seconds away from knocking their heads together. Or into a wall. She’s not picky.

“Nat, are you even listening to me?” Bradley asks, the two of them seated at a bar, beer bottles in front of them.

“Yeah, Hangman did something ridiculous again you’re pissed off. So instead of talking to him about it, you’re whining to me,” she says with a roll of her eyes.

Bradley narrows his eyes, taking a long sip of beer. “You know it’s my last days here before shipping out. You could be nice to me.”

“You know it’s your last days here before shipping out, you could actually talk to me as your friend and not your marriage counselor.”

“Marriage - what, I’m not married!” Bradley sputters. “Definitely not to fucking Hangman!”

“Coulda fooled me,” Nat mumbles around her beer bottle.

“It’s Hangman, Nat,” Bradley points out, “he’s an asshole, self-obsessed, and a dick!”

“Well, that’s rich coming from you Rooster,” a familiar voice drawls behind them. “You’re the cockiest one of all, sitting smugly in your perch. Too good for the rest of us?”

“At least I can keep a wingman, you just keep scaring them off.”

Jake’s face darkens for a second, but just a second, and then his usual smirk is right back in place. “Not my fault they can’t keep up, guess I’m just that good.”

And then he’s walking away and Bradley is groaning again, dropping his head on to the bar.

“God, I hate him,” Bradley mutters. “What an asshole, acting like he’s a gift to the Navy. I can’t wait to be stationed halfway around the world from him.”

“And yet, here you are talking about him, like you always do,” Nat points out. It’s uncharacteristic of her to make such a comment, she knows it. She stays out of everyone’s business. Especially Bradley Bradshaw and Jake Seresin’s business. And from the way Bradley is gaping at her, she can’t get away with shutting up now. So she takes a breath and turns on her barstool to face him.

“Rooster, for five years I’ve listened to both of you complain endlessly about each other but you refuse to actually talk to each other. Ever since flight school, you two avoid each other or you come to me. And honestly? I’m fucking sick of it! You’re both so smart and yet so stupid!”

“What do you-”

“Bradley. He likes you. You like him. Fucking go, kiss him or something,” she says, her energy to care and actually do something about this situation quickly fading. “Just, go actually talk to him for once. I’m not listening to your bullshit anymore.”

“You think he likes me?”

Natasha rolls her eyes at him. “He never shuts up about you and struts like a goddamn peacock whenever you’re around. He likes you. Go talk to him like a normal person.”