Nate, of course, was born to wear cardigans, with his big green eyes, marble skin and elegant bone structure. Much as Brad would give anyone else so much shit about that being the gayest thing since rollerblading, or iced lattes, or purse-sized pomeranians in their own tiny sweaters - Fick manages to make it look to effortlessly classy that Brad feels kind of underdressed next to him.

Brad will wear a flannel, a sweatshirt, or a jacket if it's cold, but it's pretty rare that he ever deems it cold enough.

But tonight is a special occasion. Their first proper date since Brad came home from England, and Nate left the Corps altogether.

He'd look like a moron in a suit, or even just a blazer over his neatly pressed shirt, way too try hard. But he goes out, and with a little help from Ray, who laughs at him even through several creative threats of physical violence, picks out a tasteful, dark green knitted v-neck sweater. With sleeves. He'd have to throw himself down the stairs if he picked out a fucking sweater vest.

He fusses with the collar, just a little, a couple sprays of aftershave, a little product in his still-regulation-short hair and he's more or less done. Any more is overkill. It's weird enough being in this civilian shit.

It's the middle of October, just starting to get colder, mist laying heavy around the trees at the end of the yard.

Nate shows up, as agreed, at six sharp - Brad has eyes on him through the front window, before he even rings the doorbell.

He's wearing a blazer, no tie, chinos rather than dress pants. He looks gorgeous. Bastard.

Brad hesitates before going to the door. Maybe it's too much, maybe he does, in fact, look stupid. But the idea of backing down offends his warrior spirit way more than the knitwear ever could.

Nate looks a little surprised at first when Brad opens the door, before a warm smile spreads across his face as he looks him up and down.

'Hey, so uh... you must be Mr. Colbert. I was kinda hoping to take Brad out tonight? I'll have him back by ten, Sir, I promise..'

Brad nearly shuts the door in his face. 'Ray has way too much influence on you. I can take it off..'

'No, I like it. I just wasn't expecting it.'

'It's a date! Our first date! Just because you know what I look like doesn't seem like a good reason to not try a little. '

'I'm very flattered. And you look gorgeous..'

'You don't have to lie to me, I-'

a smile for you here, holding your hand there

even if y’all were standing next to or behind each other before drills or at one of those “pep talks” your COs give, one of you would reach out and link your pinkies

he’s fiercely protective and will not hesitate to throw hands with whoever disrespects or upsets you, ESPECIALLY if you start looking down in the dumps or like you want to stab something--or someone

which also involves you either trying to talk him out of it or patching up his cuts and trying to ice his bruises as best as you can

there’s a lot of “calm down, Evan, he’s not worth your time.” or “i keep telling you, i can’t always patch you up.”

he’s not stupid enough to go after his COs, but he’ll be super salty about it

you sit in his humvee while you listen to him rant and pace around later, and then when you feel he’s feeling a little better, you just hug him for a really long time

it was in one of these times that he admitted his feelings for you

you grinned and pressed a kiss to his cheek and he turned a shade of red that he didn’t know was possible

anyway when y’all told everyone y’all were dating, they were mostly like

“oh my god FINALLY” or something related lol

the both of you were so confused

“wait, you thought-”

“honestly, if either of you took any longer to admit your feelings, one of us would’ve done it for you.”

after y’all made it known y’all were dating though, Evan was still kinda shy on the pda

but if y’all were having a moment™ he’s the total opposite

absolute cuddlebug/octopus/koala

a great cuddler

on a related note, he seems to know exactly when you need cuddles or just a really long hug

he will not let you go back to work until he knows you’re feeling better

OH-

i headcanon that this boi is a sleep talker

it’s not loud or anything, but occasionally, you’ll hear him say the most random or endearing things

like once he was talking, you rolled over and asked him what he was saying, and then he replied with “what if Back to the Future was done in lobster suits?” and then went back to sleep

Evan is surprisingly domestic

likes to make you breakfast, always has coffee brewing, likes to make sure the apartment you share is in order

likes to take you out on dates, but y’all go paintballing or something; nothing too fancy. maybe the movies, too

i also headcanon that Evan actually likes to read a lot

he likes to lay his head in your lap as he reads

if he’s reading somewhere, you like to bring over a blanket and wrap it around the both of you so the both of you are sitting closer and just vibing

sometimes if either of you are having trouble sleeping, he’ll grab a book and start reading out loud

it works most of the time, but if it doesn’t, the both of you will often spend the night just talking

y’all have gotten into very deep conversations at 4 am, let me say

late night/super early morning conversations are the best conversations and i will die on this hill

OH he’s also a total goofball and will do whatever it takes to make you smile

including during your 4 am conversations- 😂

“we were in the middle of talking about how time travel could be detrimental to virtually everything, and you thought that if we were able to bring back dinosaurs we’d be able to use them in a circus? do you even know how catastrophic that would be???”

“yeah but think about it: a dinosaur in a wig or with a clown nose or in a tutu.”

“......okay, yes, you win; that’s actually pretty funny.”

loves to hold you close while you sleep

like a reassurance that he’s not fighting anymore, that he’s home with you and not in the desert

with that being said: he absolutely loves being the small spoon tho

if either of you ever have nightmares, one of you will always be the big spoon and help the other back to sleep

the both of you always fall asleep knowing that you’re both together, that you’re both safe, that the both of you have seen too much shit together...that you’re both happy with the little world you’ve made for yourselves

~