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Bradley was on his way out the door when his phone rang.
“Hey Uncle Ice,” he tried and failed to juggle his keys, wallet, and gym bag as he locked his apartment door behind him, “what’s happenin?”
“Good afternoon, Bradley,” Ice’s voice was smooth as ever on the other end of the line, “how are you today? Did I catch you at a good time?”
“Always a good time,” Bradley dropped his wallet, and then his keys, and then his wallet again in quick succession. He barely managed to bite off a curse under his breath, because of all the Dads’ that Bradley happened to have that he didn’t want to hear him swearing, it’s the Dad that’s also technically his boss.
“Sounds like it,” Ice says blandly, “anyway I just rang to say that since you’re not on duty this weekend I’d like to invite you and your roommate to lunch. We’re having a barbeque. Some old friends of ours are visiting this week, and it’s been a while since you came by. It’ll be good for everyone to meet, and for us to catch up again.”
“I am on duty this weekend,” Bradley frowned, confused.
“No, no you’re not.” and Bradley can tell from Ice’s tone that when, at the end of this phone call, he rings into base to check he’s going to discover that somehow, mysteriously, his weekend duty hours have swapped for some other poor bastard who hopefully didn’t have anything important on.
“I also don’t have a roommate,” Bradley pointed out.
“From flight school,” Ice explained. “He’s not on duty this weekend either, what a marvellous coincidence. I’d very much like to meet this young man who I’ve heard so much about”.
Which, okay, maybe Bradley had mentioned him once or twice but surely not enough to single him out as Someone Important to invite to a Family Gathering. Surely not.
“That’ll be an interesting conversation” Bradley huffed as he threw his bag into the back of his car and lowered himself into the driver's seat. “Hey, Jake, don’t think too much about it, but my Uncle who’s also, by the way, the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, has gone in and rearranged your duty roster so you can come to his party this weekend.”
“Well, pick up lines were always Mav’s specialty,” Ice sounds slightly amused, “but my advice would be to say something like “Hey, want to come to a barbeque with me this weekend?” and see how it goes from there. Start small and simple, so you can build up.”
“ Pick up li - Uncle Ice, we’re just friends” Bradley blushed against his will, horrified. Maybe he had been more obvious than he’d realised.
“Of course, of course,” Ice sounded completely unconvinced and Bradley wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. “Nevertheless, I expect you both to be there by 1300h.”
“Aye sir,” Bradley said glumly, “We’ll be there.”
“You’re a good kid, Bradley,” Ice said, before he hung up “I can’t wait to see you again. Take care now.”
***
After Bradley had somewhat recovered from the mortification of learning that possibly - probably - for years Ice has known about his truly embarrassing and ever-increasing crush on one Jake Seresin, fellow aviator and the most arrogant son of a bitch Bradley had ever met, and then the further mortification of realising that if Iceman knew about it then Maverick absolutely also knew about it and they had probably definitely discussed it together, oh God, he managed to get himself together enough to shoot off a text to said same Jake Seresin asking where he was.
He didn’t get a reply until he was nearly through his set at the gym.
<just about to finish all this stupid paperwork> came the reply. <not all of us had the luxury of a free afternoon, Bradshaw>
< want to get something to eat? I can pick you up in 10> Bradley texted back, trying desperately to silence the echo of Ice saying ‘ pick-up lines were always Mav’s specialty’ , because that’s not what this was, and if Bradley kept telling himself that then maybe it would come true.
<sure thing chicken nugget>
< we’re all nuggets> Bradley shot back < that's literally what they call all of us. The nickname isn’t going to stick. Stop trying to make fetch happen, Seresin>
< I can do anything I put my mind to, Bradshaw, my Mom said so. See you soon.>
***
“Bradshaw, as I live and breathe,” Jake slid into the passenger seat and flashed Bradley a grin. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
Bradley gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.
“What do you feel like?” Bradley stalled, “Burgers? Chicken? Chinese? Pizza? I’ll eat anything, I’m starving.”
“Burgers is fine,” Jake replied, “but may I remind you cannibalism is frowned upon in polite society, so you should steer clear of chicken in future if you don’t want people to talk”
“Ha,” Bradley said flatly, “ha. Ha. ha. How very funny you are, Seresin”.
“I try,” Jake flashed him another grin and Bradley focussed really hard on the road.
***
“So what has got you so rattled, chicken nugget?” Jake asked, shoving some fries into his mouth.
“Well,” Bradley screwed up his face, thinking about how best to get on, “I got a call from my Uncle Ice this afternoon inviting both of us to a family thing this weekend.”
“He invited me?” Jake looked confused.
“He was very clear about it,” Bradley nodded. “I am to bring myself and yourself this Saturday, no later than 1300h”
Jake leaned back in his chair and looked a little disappointed “Sorry man, I’d love to but I have duty this Saturday.” he paused, realisation dawning on his face “Hang on, you also have duty this weekend.” He narrowed his eyes. “Did you forget? We were just complaining about it yesterday!”
Bradley coughed. “Well the thing about that is we don’t have duty this weekend. Uh. Anymore.”
Jake looked confused. “How’d you change our roster?”
“I’m good, but I’m not that good,” Bradley took a long drink. “Iceman however…” he trailed off. Jake was smart. He’d figure it out.
Jake stared at him for a long moment, then realisation bloomed across his face. “Iceman? Uncle Ice? Is - Bradley Bradshaw, is your uncle the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet and you’ve never mentioned it before now?”
Bradley shrugged, aiming for nonchalant and missing by a country mile. “You never asked”. He took a bite of his burger. It was pretty good.
“I did ask,” Jake pressed, “I did in fact ask you. Remember when we both had our final flight before graduating and I said ‘hey, what do your uncles do that they can’t be here to see you graduate?’ Remember that? And you said, ‘the navy, they’re both in the navy’ and then I sprayed you with the fire hose?”
Bradley did remember that. Fire hoses had quite a bit of pressure behind them. He’d nearly been knocked off his feet. He’d thought it was kind of a stupid tradition up until the point that Jake had stripped the top of his flight suit off and tied it around his waist, wet white undershirt practically see-through and his golden hair, covered in water droplets, glinting in the sun. He’d nearly been knocked off his feet all over again at the sight. That was a good day.
“Well, they are both in the navy,” Bradley protested, forcing himself to focus on the conversation at hand and not the memory. “I just didn’t mention how in charge of most of the navy this particular uncle happens to be. It didn’t seem relevant at the time.”
“It didn’t seem relevant - what’s the other one, the Commander of the Atlantic Fleet?” Jake’s voice had risen comically high, and his eyebrows were practically in his hairline.
“Oh no,” Bradley laughed, “Oh man, he’d hate that so much. No, he’s a captain. He’s a pilot, like us. Flies with the Jolly Rogers. I mean they were both aviators back in the day, but you won’t be meeting Mav though, he’s still deployed.”
“So, I have been cordially invited to attend a family gathering with the most intimidating of your uncles this weekend, and to make sure I comply with this invitation my work schedule has been conveniently rearranged by said uncle.” Jake said, leaning forward again. “Is that right?”
“More or less,” Bradley stopped picking at his food and dared to meet Jake’s eyes. The other man was staring at him intently. “It’s not a big deal though, it’s a casual thing. It’s not a navy thing, so don’t get worked up about it.”
There was a long pause.
“Why me?” Jake was still staring at Bradley with an expression Bradley couldn’t quite read.
“Because we’re…friends,” Bradley said, lamely, “He wants to meet you.” He didn’t say “Because I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned you every time I’ve spoken to Ice or Mav since the day we met, and I’m reasonably sure that this casual family get together is partly an excuse for Ice to read you the riot act about not breaking my heart even though we’re just friends” but it was a close thing. Cause Bradley’s pretty sure that’s why Jake was invited.
Jake studied him for a moment more, expression inscrutable, before relaxing “all right,” he said, “I look forward to it” and he flashed Bradley another grin, somehow warmer and softer than before. Bradley grinned back.
***
“You really didn’t have to bring anything,” Bradley said again as he led Jake up the path to the front door and rang the bell, “you’re the guest here”.
“Were you raised in a barn, Bradshaw?” Jake readjusted his grip on the flowers he’d insisted Bradley stop off for on the way, “You never - and I mean never - turn up empty handed.”
Bradley was saved from a reply by his Aunt Sarah appearing in the doorway.
“Bradley, come in! Come in!” Sarah ushered them inside, and Bradley bent nearly double to hug her.
“You must be Jake,” Sarah beamed at him after Bradley let her go.
“Yes ma’am,” Jake held out the flowers, “thank you so much for inviting me.”
“Oh, aren’t you a dear,” Sarah smiled up at him warmly and pulled him in for a hug too. “Any friend of Bradley’s is part of the family”. A run of emotions flashed across Jake’s face, too fast for Bradley to decipher.
“I’ll go get a vase,” Bradley offered, suddenly feeling awkward.
“No, no, you boys head outside,” Sarah pushed them gently towards the back porch. “Tom’s out there with the other men, and the girls are around somewhere too. Penny and I will be out in a minute.” She disappeared into the kitchen.
“Where you lead, I will follow,” Jake said, gesturing for Bradley to keep moving.
“Oh really?” Bradley grinned, making his way through the house, “Huh. That’s so strange because I could have sworn, last week, during that exercise you insisted that only you could ever be the pointman - “
Here he was interrupted by Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, calling out his name and waving a pair of barbeque tongs at him in greeting.
“Hey Uncle Ice,” Bradley moved past two unfamiliar men gathered around the grill and gave his uncle a one armed hug in greeting. “Smells good”
“Glad you could make it,” Ice grinned at him. “Are you going to introduce us?”
“This is Jake,” Bradley gestured and stepped back. Jake stepped forward.
“Pleasure to meet you, sir,” Jake shook Ice’s hand, stiff and formal. He hid it well, but Bradley could tell he was nervous by the hard line in his shoulders.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Ice smiled warmly, “We’ve all heard so much about you.”
“Good things I hope, sir,” Jake smiled back.
Ice just laughed and gestured to the two men beside him. “This is Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, and Detective Danny Williams. They’re good friends of Maverick and I. Gentlemen, this is my boy Bradley and his friend Jake, both newly winged airmen.”
“Congrats,” said the one named Steve as he leaned forward to shake both their hands,”what do they call you these days? RAGs?”
“Nuggets,” Jake replied, “I call Bradley a chicken nugget.”
“I can’t say what type of nugget you are in polite society,” Bradley shot back.
“Chicken nugget,” Ice mused, “I like it. Why don’t you grab your friend a drink, Bradley?”
“You are not allowed to tell Mav that I’m a chicken nugget,” Bradley threatened, dutifully digging around in the cooler for beers. He passed one along to Jake.
“Excuse me, what’s a nugget? Or a rag?” the one named Danny asked in a thick Jersey accent. “I didn’t bring my navy-to-human dictionary with me today, my mistake.”
“FNG,” Steve explained.
“Oh of course,” Danny exclaimed, gesturing broadly, “that just clears everything right up. I can’t believe I even asked, it was obvious from the beginning. Man, do I feel dumb right now.”
Steve laughed warmly “FNG stands for ‘fucking new guy’”.
Danny screwed up his face. “That…actually should have been obvious.”
“RAG is Replacement Air Group, and we don’t use that anymore; and they’re all Nuggets because they’re raw metal ready to be shaped,” Ice filled in the rest.
“Thank you,” Danny said sarcastically, turning to Steve, “See? Tom is nice to me. Tom is helpful. Just because your chaos twin isn’t here is no reason to pick on me.” He took a swig of his drink, “Speaking of, where is Pete, anyway?”
“Still at sea,” Ice said evenly, “though hopefully he should end this deployment in a couple of months,”
“What’d he do this time?” Danny asked, half laughing.
“That’s classified,” Ice said in a tone that spoke volumes, and Bradley watched as Steve took a swig of his own beer to keep himself from laughing. Danny and Ice shared a look that could only be described as long-suffering.
“This conversation feels like it’s above our paygrade,” Bradley broke the silence, “so is there anything we can we do anything to help that is not here, so that I can maintain plausible deniability next time Mav decides to Mav?”
“Put these on the table,” Ice gestured towards the food he’d been plating, “and find yourselves a seat. We’re about done.”
***
Lunch was a delightful blur of good food and constant laughter. Steve and Danny bickered hilariously, and near constantly. In a way they reminded Bradley of Ice and Mav, a little, but freer. It was a little window into what might have been, if everything had happened in a different decade. It was good to see Penny again, too, and Sarah seemed to take to Jake like he was a long lost son. Amelia was there, giggling and whispering conspiratorially with Danny’s daughter Grace. Both girls kept blushing whenever Jake spoke to them, or passed them anything from the table. Bradley fought the urge to roll his eyes, and overall the girls’ conspiring probably didn’t bode very well for him later, but right now, though, he couldn’t bring himself to care. The sun was warm against his skin, the beer was cold, and sitting next to Jake, pressed against him so they all fit at the table, well. Bradley couldn’t remember being happier. He had to stop himself complaining when, at the end of the meal, Jake rose and insisted on helping with the dishes.
“No, no, you stay here, Bradley,” Ice said when Bradley rose as well, “We’ll help, too, Jake,” and with armfuls of plates Ice and Steve disappeared into the kitchen with a suddenly nervous Jake in tow.
Penny smiled wickedly at Bradley. “They probably won’t eat him,” she smirked.
“He’s just a friend,” Bradley hissed, and Danny laughed, a raucous burst of sound, sudden.
“Sure, kid,” he said. “Listen, it’s okay to be a little slow on the uptake sometimes, God knows Steve is, but I’ve been hearing about your boy for years now it feels like, and one of you’s got to make a move sometime.”
“I’m going to go sit over there,” Bradley said, absolutely mortified, “where I don’t have to have this conversation”.
Grabbing his drink, he wandered down to the bottom of the garden where there was a hanging bench in the shade of an old tree. It looked over the ocean, and it was a beautiful spot to sit and definitely not think about your friend possibly getting the third degree in the kitchen from one of your pseudo dads and his terrifying Navy SEAL friend. His peace was shortly interrupted though, by two giggling teenage girls.
“Hello Amelia,” Bradley said. “You seem shorter.” He didn’t have any blood siblings, and neither did she. The first time they’d met, in Bradley’s distant past, she’d been small and annoying and he’d been far too cool to hang out with such a baby. But she’d followed him around that summer, as he tried to ignore how fast his mother was fading, and by the end he couldn’t imagine his life without this tiny, irritating scrap of a girl in it. He considered her his little sister. All of Bradley’s family was made up of people not technically related to him, or even each other, so why not add a sister to the strange mix of uncle-dad’s and aunt-mothers.
Amelia levelled him with what Bradley supposed she thought was an intimidating glare. It wasn’t. She was still very small. Or he was tall. Or both.
“Listen,” she said, “Grace and I have been talking,”
“Uh-oh,” Bradley mocked her a little.
“No, our turn now,” Grace spoke to Bradley for the first time this afternoon, extremely confident and commanding. Bradley was taken aback. “I’ve already been through this with Danno and Uncle Steve, so I know what I’m talking about. Your boyfriend is very handsome,” - here they both dissolved into giggles while Bradley sat, aghast, because good God was this the conversation he was having right now? He’d rather take his chances with Ice and Steve.
“Very handsome,” Amelia continued, when they’d calmed down a little and caught their breath. “Like, so cute, oh my God. He’s far too good for you, actually, you’re really hitting above your weight.”
Bradley frowned and allowed himself to feel offended for a moment.
“But you need to tell him that you think so or he’ll find someone else,” Grace continued ruthlessly, “Life is short, Bradley, at any moment one or both of you will end up committing a legally dubious act and end up needing to be extracted from Afghanistan and there’s a war on. It’s dangerous. You could die. Jake could die, and he won’t know how you feel because you’re too much of a chicken to say something.”
“Wait, are we talking about me, or about Mav?” Bradley was confused. He’d never committed legally dubious acts in his life.
“You don’t want to lose your chance, Bradley,” Amelia put her hands on his shoulders and gave him a tiny shake. He didn’t actually move, but the effect was the same. “Any day now he could meet someone like Grace’s Uncle Steve, who is much, much prettier than you are, and he’s going to forget all about you,”
“You don’t want to die alone,” Grace warned ominously.
“I’m only twenty-five!” Bradley protested. “I’m not over the hill yet!”
The looks he got back told him they clearly didn’t believe him. To be fair, when Bradley was thirteen, he also thought people in their twenties were ancient.
“Look, this chat has been great,” Bradley shook his head, ‘no wait, no great’s not the word. Horrific. This chat has been horrific. I will be forever traumatised by this moment. Please leave me alone, and for the love of God, do not tell Jake he’s pretty. Go - “ he gestured up the garden back at the house “-go do whatever small children do for fun that’s not interfering with their older brothers dating life”.
Grace sighed. “What a shame,” she said to Amelia. “We tried. It’s up to him now.”
“But he’s so dumb,” Bradley overheard Amelia reply as they climbed the hill away from him.
He didn’t entirely disagree with her.
***
Bradley was still trying to work out how to process, store, and repress that conversation had ever happened, when Jake appeared at his side, offering him another drink. Bradley gladly accepted and took a deep drink while Jake sat himself down next to Bradley, lazing back in the corner of the chair, one arm slung casually along the backrest and his thigh pressing warmly against Bradley’s.
“You good?” Bradley asked, because Jake seemed not only unscathed from his 2 v 1 in the kitchen, but entirely unruffled.
“I am good, Bradshaw,” Jake grinned, “I am very good.” They settled into an easy silence.
“I like him,” Jake said after a moment, “your uncle. He’s a cool dude.”
“He’s the Iceman,” Bradley joked, “Seriously though, what was that about?”
“Oh nothing,” Jake deliberately avoided Bradley’s gaze and took a long drink from his beer. “I’m invited for Christmas.”
“What?” That was not where Bradley thought this was going.
“Parents love me,” Jake grinned. “What, did you think they were going to bail me up against the sink and threaten me with a shotgun in case I ever break your delicate heart?”
“Kind of,” Bradley admitted.” Those were the weird vibes I was getting”.
“Well, your uncle doesn’t have a shotgun,” Jake said, “but he does have a Navy SEAL and that’s more terrifying.” he patted Bradley on the knee and got up from the chair. “Come on, stop being antisocial down here by your lonesome, Sarah said there’s ice cream”. Jake rose from his seat and held his hand out to help Bradley up. Bradley took it, dumbly, and followed him up the hill, and wondered if maybe he should read something into the fact that Jake didn’t drop his hand for several steps.
***
As the sun began to set below the horizon, and the warm summer air began to gently cool, Bradley and Jake said their goodbyes.
“It was good to meet you, Sir,” Bradley told Steve, shaking his hand farewell.
“Likewise,” Steve said, “maybe I’ll see you out there in a few years.”
“No, no, no you won’t,” Danny interrupted. “No, he won’t. He won’t see you out there. He’s retired. Steve, Steve you’re retired remember? You work for 5-0 now. You’ve worked for 5-0 for years. You keep forgetting, there’s something wrong with you, I swear. Absolutely this man was dropped on his head as a baby, no doubt about it. No,” he turned to Bradley and Jake, “You want to see him, you come to Hawaii. It’s hell, I don’t know why you would, but that’s where you can find this idiot if you ever feel the need to for some ungodly reason.”
“Hawaii is paradise, Danno,” Steve grinned, affectionate, and Bradley got the feeling this was an old, worn argument.
“Hawaii sucks,” Amelia said, darkly, as she passed.
“I like it,” Gracie chimed in.
“See? This daughter, this is a good daughter, Penny. Unlike mine, here, who is a traitor to everything her family holds dear,” Danno ruffled Gracie’s hair affectionately.
Bradley could see Jake was caught up with Sarah and Penny, so he made his way down to wait by the car. Ice followed him.
“He’s a good kid,” Ice said, quietly, as they watched from the road.
“Did you threaten him with a SEAL?” Bradley asked pointedly.
“Threaten? No, no it wasn’t a threat.” Ice sniffed. “Bradley,” he paused for a minute, considering. “Bradley the navy put you in charge of a 25 tonne death machine. You hold the power of life and death in your hands every time you fly; yours and those you left on the ground.” He looked away from Bradley and up at Jake, who’d thrown his head back in laughter at something Penny had said.
“There are things that are scary in this life, kid,” Ice said gently, “but this isn’t it. Stop overthinking it.”
“Ice - “ Bradley began,
“You won’t be nuggets in the FRS for long,” Ice continued. “You’ll get your squadrons, your call signs. It’s easier to deploy if you have someone to come home to.” He had a faraway look in his eye and Bradley knew he wasn’t just thinking of Sarah.
Bradley nodded. Jake had nearly reached them, waving over his shoulder.
“When you’ve sorted yourselves out, bring him around for Sunday lunch sometime.” Ice patted Bradley on the shoulder, “it was good seeing you kid.”
“Bye Uncle Ice,” Bradley said as Jake rounded the car and nodded to Ice. The older man nodded back and made his way up to the house. Bradley lowered himself into the car and drove away.
***
“Thanks for bringing me today,” Jake said when Bradley pulled up at his apartment building. “I had a lot of fun. Your family is great.” He made no move to get out of the car.
“Thanks for pretending you had a choice in coming,” Bradley drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry my uncle threatened you with Seal Team Steve.”
“That guy’s kind of scary,” Jake admitted, “I mean, not when he’s looking at Danny he’s not, that was the cutest shit I’ve ever seen, but wow I wouldn’t want to see him rise out of the ocean all blacked up, you know?” He wiggled his fingers in front of his face in what Bradley supposed was supposed to be an approximation of camouflage paint.
“I pity the criminal population of Hawaii if they ever choose to go for Danny,” Bradley agreed, turning towards Jake, “Steve seems so much more of a threat than prison time.”
There’s an awkward pause
“Did you also get a talking to or -?” Jake trailed off. He sounded hesitant. Bradley suspected that wasn’t the question Jake had actually wanted to ask. There’s something uncertain in the air around Jake, a vulnerability in the corners of his eyes that Bradley had never noticed before. They’re leaning in towards one another, unconsciously drawn closer and with a moment of clarity Bradley saw that this is how they’d lived their lives ever since they first met. Drawn together with a sort of magnetism, forever circling this unspoken and unacknowledged something between them. A something that had apparently been blatantly obvious to everybody except Bradley.
“Yeah, actually, the girls called me dumb,” Bradley admitted, “Dumb and old.”
Jake burst out laughing, eyes crinkled, and head thrown back. Bradley just watched, grinning back, and Ice was right. It wasn’t frightening. It would be such a small and simple step to take.
“They’re not wrong,” Bradley said softly as Jake wiped a tear away from his eye, still chuckling.
“Oh God that’s precious,” Jake grinned, “why on earth did they call you dumb?”
“Because I hadn’t done this, yet” Bradley said, and leaned forward and kissed him.
The kiss is soft, and chaste, and brief, but Jake brings his hand up to cradle Bradley’s face and Bradley’s heart sings. When they break apart, Jake’s pupils are dark and there’s a pink flush to his cheeks that Bradley finds ridiculously endearing. Jake is staring at him with something akin to wonder.
“Yeah,” Jake says, voice rough, “yeah, the girls are right. You are dumb for not having done that before,” and leaned in for another kiss.
***
Four months later, Bradley and Jake waited on the tarmac for the Jolly Rogers to fly in after a long, extended deployment. Bradley felt the usual nervous energy he always had whenever he was waiting for Mav or Ice to return from sea; a mix of excitement and anxiety that somehow they’d have forgotten him, or he'd have forgotten what they look like. It turned out that you never really grow out of that childish shyness, not really, not entirely. Jake, beside him, was also nervous, but for different reasons entirely, and handling it better to boot.
“Am I about to get threatened with another SEAL attack or something?” Jake asked under his breath, as the squadron soared into view on the horizon.
“You were never threatened,” Ice had snuck up behind them at some point. He clapped them both on the back, “I wouldn’t worry about Captain Mitchell, Jake. He’s a very loyal man. Bradley likes you, so he’ll like you. He’s also more of a swing first, apologise later kind of guy. Just put your hand on his forehead if he goes for you. He’s pretty short, you should be able to hold him back.”
Bradley snorted with laughter. There was no venom behind the words. Ice was grinning widely. “I’m going to wait up front, gentlemen. If I’m the first thing that idiot sees when he lands, then maybe my wingman can make it through the post-flight checks this time without doing anything else stupid.”
“Just don’t tell him I’m a chicken nugget,” Bradley warned, threading their fingers together and giving Jake’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Or I really, really will never be called anything else.”
Jake grinned and knocked their shoulders together. “No promises,”.