It drives Jake up a wall that his husband is a little shit when tired and therefore he has no filter. Bradley is a menace. I’ve said it before but I will say it again Jake is somehow the normal one when he marries into Bradley’s family.

Bradley has a dream one night, one that feels different from the other, generic shit he dreams randomly. This one is different because there's someone here.

Someone he has never met before.

"Hello?" He asks, standing a few feet away and not wanting to get closer. It's dark in this room, and chilly, with a rough floor below his feet.

No answer.

Bradley steps a little closer and raises his voice, asking again, "who are you?"

The person—a man, now that he can make out—shuffles slightly and turns, face still mostly hidden by shadows.

"You're not real." His voice is scratchy, hoarse like he hasn't spoken in awhile.

Or like he's been yelling. A lot.

Bradley frowns, stepping closer. "This is a dream, right?" He extends his hand, memories of stuff he'd looked up online when he was younger resurfacing. His parents were soulmates, dream sharing. He'd wanted to be exactly like them.

But not like this.

Before he gets too close the man flinches and backs away, pressing tight against the wall. "Don't — please."

Before Bradley can ask what he's begging for he startles awake and comes to in his base housing, sweat dampening his brow and heart racing. "What the fuck."

The dreams keep happening.

Sometimes, they're somewhere different—Bradleys' parents house back in San Diego, a farm in what looks like rural Texas, North island base housing—but most of the time they are here.

The room is made of cement and has no windows. Bradley only knows that because one of their dreams the light was on for once. But mostly its dark.

He doesn't know the name of the man, but he knows him. They talk about everything besides who they are and where they are, and Bradley knows without a doubt that his soulmate is in danger.

He tries to look for him in his waking hours, but it's difficult. More so when he gets deployed to a carrier and can't access the internet as easily.

This goes on for months.

He doesn't know who to tell. Who would even believe him? Hey, so I'm dreaming of this guy whose possibly being held captive? Maybe help me find him? But I don't know his name or age or anything.

Then, one day he's called to Lemoore, and as he's walking the halls he spots a wall of pictures. He mostly ignores these—he's used to seeing photos of the lost, a distant part of him always grieving for his father's photo back in NAS—but one of them makes him halt in his steps.

Upon closer inspection, he almost passes out from surprise when he comes face to face with his soulmate.

LT Jake "Hangman" Seresin.

Bradley calls Mav and finally tells him the truth, tells him about the dreams and the worries and the picture. Mav helps him find out more information (with Ice's help, of course) and together they find out what they can.

Jake, pilot, was shot down in enemy territory a year prior. No recovery. They assumed he was KIA, but according to what Ice found, they hadn't been able to find a body or even his tags, so technically he's MIA.

Bradley knows without a doubt that Jake is still alive.

The next time he dreams of Jake, he calls him by his name.

Jake looks stricken. "You found me?"

Bradley feels tears well up. "Not yet, baby. But we will. I will. I promise."

It takes another few weeks. There was a lot of red tape on Ice's end, and Mav cutting corners to ignore said red tape. They finally figure out where, exactly, Jake's plane went down, and then, somehow, Mav gets them an extraction team that is willing to drop into enemy territory to go and find Jake.

Bradley's tasked with finding out any defining details of the place—land markers and building schematics, anything. Jake is more reserved in those dreams, staying in the corner with his knees to his chest and head down. He answers questions readily but avoids touching Bradley unless it's to try and convince him to just let this whole thing go.

"I can't. I won't. You deserve to be safe. You deserve to come home. I'm going to give that to you." He promises.

Jake just stares. "Or risk dying to try."

They arrive at the compound just as night falls a week later. Bradley had demanded (pleaded, begged, bargaining with anything and anyone) until he was allowed on the ground. He needed to be there. Jake needed him there.

There were few people around, half a dozen if that, most surrendered easily. Some didn't. Bradley ignores them all, hyper focused on the tugging sensation pulling him towards the back end of the building.

The door is familiar, the creak and squeal of the hinge as it opens.

And then—

There, huddled in the corner but staring, green eyes wide and brimming with tears, was Jake. He looks ashen, cheeks gaunt and hands shaking, but he's alive.

Bradley rushes to him and drops to his knees. "Baby. Hey," he soothes when Jake all but falls into his chest, "I've got you. Shh, relax. Breathe for me, that's it." He rubs a gentle, calming hand up and down the protruding bones of Jake's spine, slow and soft until Jake's breathing calms enough to move him.z

"You found me." Jake rasps, voice thick. "You're real."

It's so much like the first dream and that punches a wounded noise from Bradley's gut, but he holds Jake close and rocks them gently. "Yeah, Jake. I'm here. I'm real. I promised I'd come get you, didn't i?"

wild blue

a hangster ranching au // 11k so far

bradley's father always told him about his summers spent working as a ranch hand in the west. when bradley is made aware of his godfather's interference with his career, he takes an extended leave from the navy to follow his father's ghost. it takes him up to a ranch in southern montana, but whether he's there to find his father or himself, bradley isn't sure. more than that, he isn't sure about the handsome rancher who takes him under his wing and shows him how to get back in the saddle.

Some people know the ring belongs to Bradley's dad, Natasha and Billy. Post mission with permanent Dagger squad formation someone asks Bradley when they're going to meet the wife, and kind of jerk their chin at the ring Bradley has put back on his finger out of habit. And Bradley is all "Oh, I don't have a wife" and someone thinks he means that she died, and Bradley is suddenly worried just how many people think he's secretly married or now widowed and he has to explain to all of them what the deal is.

Jake has never been anything other than professional. Until now. There's a female aviator and Jake is teasing her, bopping her on the nose when they're not at work, hanging out together and Bradley never would have worried before about Hangman crossing that line. Except it doesn't look great. So he says something.

Hangman laughs at him, because it's his cousin, and then Hangman drops the 'anyway, the male aviators would have a better chance' and Bradley splutters and goes WHAT? Queue Bradley spiralling a little, because he's never thought of Hangman's sexuality before. Had assumed he was straight. Like Bradley is. (😈😏)

TGM AU - Jake is a NICU nurse and Bradley Bradshaw's newborn twins are two of his newest patients. (Previous tumblr post).

Alternating Jake/Bradley POVs (Odd/Even)

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN FOURTEEN FIFTEEN SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN EIGHTEEN NINETEEN TWENTY