Work Text:
Bob had never been so grateful to be in a bar by himself. Because it meant he didn't have to conceal his surprise when he heard a familiar laugh. His head probably turned fast enough to give him whiplash and he caught the tail end of a well-practiced smirk. It was rare for anyone to catch Bob off guard, but leave it up to Jake "Hangman" Seresin of all people to get the job done. Sure enough, the infamous pilot had found the same bar to camp at the night before their first debriefing. And naturally, he had to beat his friends at a game of pool.
Bob internally bemoaned his seat close to the pool table that would prevent him from slipping away without gaining the other man's attention. Now he was forced to witness the cocky posturing that had been so fascinating to him the first time he met the infamous pilot…
...The deep chuckle that still echoed in his ear.
...The hands that had held him so carefully.
...The mouth that had left him breathless.
...Their bodies had fit together so effortlessly…
...The man that had left him without a backwards glance.
Bob cursed his luck. Of course he'd end up on a detachment with the man that had left him seeing stars before walking away and never looking back.
He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he missed the young woman who asked about him. Suddenly the man he couldn't forget was looking him right in the eye.
"When did you get in?" Jake asked.
A question so casual, they might as well have been between complete strangers. Bob reminded himself they should be. He shouldn’t know how those forearms felt around him, how those thighs moved against his own, how that goddamn smirk tasted. But he couldn’t help it, it hadn’t even been two hours since the cocky blond had managed to corner him against his car on the way into this bar.
...Fancy seeing you here, flyboy…
Bob stuttered under the weight of the memory and unexpected attention. "Oh I've— I've been here the whole time."
Bob caught the blink of surprise that the handsome blond covered with that smirk as he turned back towards the rest of the group, "The man's a stealth pilot."
...A chuckle, "Hm, you strike me as the stealth pilot type. Am I right?"
..."Wouldn't you like to know?'
"Weapons Systems Officer, actually." Bob corrected.
An eyebrow twitched upwards at him, "With no sense of humor," came the unimpressed reply. Bob tried to minimize the disappointment he felt at the other man's indifferent attitude.
The young woman from earlier, who he now recognized from the personnel files had turned to him, "What do they call you?"
"Bob." He replied, and instantly recognized his mistake, trying not to grimace. Well done, Floyd.
A chuckle went around and a tall pilot asked, "No, your call sign." That was Reuben Fitch, call sign Payback.
Bob tried desperately not to blush, feeling the weight of a certain hazel gaze. "Uh… Bob," he muttered, nodding to himself.
"Bob Floyd, you're my new backseater? From Lemoore?"
Bob looked up and met the gaze of Natasha "Phoenix" Trace, and smiled hopefully. "Yeah. Looks like it."
Phoenix kept her gaze neutral and passed him her pool cue, "Nine ball, Bob. Rack 'em." A challenge, she wanted to see what he was made of, and if he would question her orders. He'd done his reading on her. She was a bold flyer, with a risky but clean, nearly flawless piloting style. Most WSO's hadn't lasted long in her backseat.
He always liked challenges. "Okay." He was pleased to see her grin.
Bob did his best to ignore Jake's tall figure walking away from them to grab another round of beers. It didn't work well.
✈✈✈
The next week wasn't as bad as Bob had expected. Jake was… tolerable most of the time. Bob never hesitated to tell him when he stepped over the line; but he missed the gentle, down-right sweet man that he had gotten to know and fallen for while on leave, prior to receiving his station at Lemoore.
It had taken a while for Jake to let down his guard, but Bob had been patient. He hadn't met anyone in a while that he felt so drawn or connected to, and he thought Jake felt the same way so waiting for the other man to open up didn't bother him. It had been worth it to get a glimpse of the soft, family man from Texas who was trying to outrun his parent's expectations. The man who was so desperate for independence that he pulled away from almost everyone. The man who built external walls so strong to guard his heart of gold. He had let Bob in to see that heart before shutting the door and leaving him out in the cold with no reason why.
He’d looked at the files of the other pilots going on this mission. He’d known he would have to face Jake again, but dissonance of knowing the kind, gentle nature of the man he saw showboating arrogance and immaturity was difficult to reconcile. Bob knew the cocky, brash man he was seeing now was just an act but he wanted to wait for Jake to affirm that belief.
He didn't have to wait long.
✈✈✈
Bob had been staring off into space, doing nothing so the knock on his hospital room door was a welcome surprise. Even if it was ridiculously late at night, definitely passed the hospital’s visiting hours. He was fully expecting the nurse to be checking on him again when Jake Seresin walked in and blew all of his expectations out of the water… again. For a moment the pair just looked at each other. Bob still didn't know what to do under that green-eyed stare. It left him breathless every time.
Jake broke the silence first, "You're alright…" It could have been a statement, an order, a question.
Bob nodded. What was Jake doing here? "That's what they tell me." He wasn't sure why, but he felt compelled to add, "I'll be back in the air tomorrow."
Jake seemed to come to a decision and walked around his bed to settle in the chair beside it. His posture was more awkward than Bob had ever seen it, and Bob kept tabs on Jake. Even if he didn’t want to admit it. Observation was his job and his hobby, it had become an instinct at this point. This was different though. Things with Jake had been different from the very start. Even if Bob wasn't sure why or how to address that fact. He had a hard time pulling his attention anywhere else when the blond was in the same room; whenever he did manage to do so, it always drifted right back toward the man that had left him with so many feelings that he didn't know how to handle.
More quiet followed and Bob wasn't sure what to do with that either. "What are you doing here, Jake?"
There was that grin. The grin that preceded the arrogant facade Jake paraded around in. Hangman's grin. "I'm offended, Bobby! A pilot can't pay a visit to a WSO from his squadron, whose plane lost a fight against some birds?" Jake leaned back a bit, taking up more space.
Bob tried to shove down the butterflies that fluttered at the nickname. Bobby.
"Not if he's just going to make fun of the guy. And not when the hospital's visiting hours were over three hours ago…" That at least made Jake pause. Bob raised a brow, waiting for a real explanation.
Jake shrugged, "Well, who needs to pay attention to those anyway? All I had to do was bat my little eyelashes for the pretty nurse and she gave me the keys to the castle."
The act was really bothering him. Bob just stared the blond down until he confessed, his voice softened, "Alright I snuck in. I had to see you." Then he sat up again, clapping Bob on the arm, "Had to make sure you were alright and I wouldn't be left with an idiot for a wingman."
Bob let his eyes close and his head fell back against the wall. "I don't think you've taken anything serious since we've been here. Did you really not have any better way to spend your time, so you had to come and waste mine?"
When Jake didn't have an immediate comeback, Bob's eyes opened and drifted to his side.
Jake's hands rested in his lap and his eyes weren't drifting from them. He had drawn inwards, his body language reflecting an inner struggle. "Have you ever been scared, Bobby?"
Seriously?
"We're here because I was in a plane crash, Jake."
Jake flinched. As if being confronted with the reality of the incident caused him physical pain, even after the fact and knowing that Bob had made it out unharmed. Bob watched his hand reach for his pocket and pull out a slim box. It was shaking. He took out a single toothpick and stuck it between his immaculately white teeth. He still wouldn't look Bob in the eye.
His voice was shaking too when he started, "I was scared that night when I left you—scared of the way you made me feel. And I was afraid at the bar that you would call me out and tell everyone what a jackass I am. I've spent so long being scared that one day, one of those guys is gonna see right through me and know just how much I care about everything."
Jake paused and loosed a shuddering exhale, "But I have ,never been as scared as when I heard the captain call out that bird strike. And I heard your first engine fail. And then the second. And Phoenix called for the ejection. And I heard that jet crash… In that moment the thing that scared me the most was the idea that I was going to lose you and you would never know… That you would never know how much you mean to me."
Jake's vibrant eyes finally met his own. Bob stopped breathing for a second.
"I'm afraid of a lot of things, Bobby. Mostly the way you challenge me to face the man I've become, and make me want to become a better one… but I'm more afraid of losing you than anything right now." Jake's gaze fell into his lap again, unwilling to face the potential fallout of his admission.
A couple of breaths filled the space that followed, in that hospital room that had suddenly become an echo chamber of honesty. Bob processed everything that had happened in the past week and a half; and he could see it all through a different lense now. He was still hurt by the other man's affected disinterest. He still didn't like Jake's Hangman persona that he put on around the others. But he knew some of Jake's reasoning, and that was a start.
He reached for the pilot's hand, "You didn't." Jake's head flew back up, and Bob repeated, "You didn't lose me. I shouldn’t have to tell you that I was hurt by what you did."
Jake winced but nodded, accepting the notion, so Bob squeezed his fingers and added, "But maybe we can learn to be brave together."
He didn't have to wait long for Jake to squeeze back, "I think I'd like that."
He stood, tossing his toothpick away like he was getting ready to leave, but Bob tugged him closer by the wrist. The shorter man stumbled and suddenly they were face to face. Bob whispered, "Stay. Please."
Jake's beautiful eyes flickered down to his mouth, "Visiting hours are over. We might get caught."
"You'll just have to bat those pretty little eyes again." And then Jake's lips were on his.
It was as electric as Bob remembered. Warmth that started somewhere in his chest cavity flowed through his whole body to his fingertips that tugged the other man closer. He felt the moment Jake gave in, leaning into the kiss with a hand braced on the pillows. The bed shifted as a knee was pressed to Bob's.
He wasn't sure how long they kissed. He tended to lose track of time around Jake. The next time he came up for air Jake was straddling him, knees pressed to his thighs. His heart was pounding, his glasses were gone, and his hands were on the other man's lean hips.
Jake took the opportunity to kiss a trail up his jawline. Bob wished he could deny the way his breath hitched with the motion, until Jake paused. Bob felt the breath on his ear as Jake whispered, "I'm sorry for leaving you. I'm so sorry…"
Bob's throat tightened a fraction as he turned and made eye contact, "You're here now. We'll figure out the rest later."
Those beautiful gold-flecked eyes flickered between his own before Jake nodded and the pair wordlessly shuffled themselves, falling asleep still holding hands.