Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A week or two had passed since Brett first met Ron, Reagans’ new boyfriend. 

Brett recalled in his mind when he first heard the news that Reagan finally felt comfortable enough to inform him regarding details of her private life. He was over the moon that he had unlocked the next stage of their friendship. He was so ready to like this new man in Reagans’ life and be the most supportive friend in the world. He’d even be the wedding planner if he had to! 

Unfortunately, the first impressions hadn’t been very kind towards those plans. 

Ron seemed… different. At first, Brett didn’t understand the feeling. Why was every interaction so awkward? Bretts’ job was literally to be Reagans social lubricant towards assholes, this should’ve been a piece of cake; but it just wasn’t. It was probably the hardest slice of cake he’d tackled. The worst part is that the resentment was coming from him this time. He panicked about it for a few days until hearing news of Reagans impromptu Halloween party. Administrating him to be the party guy, he tried lying about he loved Ron but it seemed very obvious as to what he was really feeling. 

Brett had never really needed a reason to like anyone before, but he was so relieved when he found Rons’ empathy to be a likeable trait worthy of dismissing his feelings of dislike. Just praying that he’d never have to encounter him or pretend that his terrible dancing skills were good ever again. This was just one of those situations that would fade after infatuation wore off, right? Just a quick month or two before one of them loses interest and it would be back to Brett-Reagan adventures together forever! 

Of course, Brett would hate if Reagan got dumped, that would be terrible to wish upon a friend. However, if the relationship slowly fizzled out, he wouldn’t be complaining. He would never prioritize someone over Reagan, so surely it wasn’t wrong to believe the feeling was mutual right? He couldn’t shake the feeling that Ron would ruin things somehow, he disagreed with the thought but it kept popping up. His dislike only further increasing for the other man. 

He pretended that it was still fine, refusing to go back on his words of admiration. Any mention of him was met with a quick “Oh, I love that guy!” before zoning out completely, he felt bad about it. As if he was feigning kindness or being a bad friend, and he didn’t even know why anything to with Ron filled him with a sense of dread. 

After a few days of pondering, he went to Gigi for some female insight. Thinking she clearly had been speaking to Reagan more lately, and there was nothing wrong with trying to understand someone better. 

He tapped her on the shoulder before asking,

“Hey Gigi?” 

The woman turned around, still chewing her gum while idly checking her media statistics,

“Oh hey, honey!’ She said endearingly with a smile, making quick eye contact before glancing back at her screen, “How’s that handsome face been?”

Brett chuckled nervously, not sure if he should start off with brute honestly like Reagan normally did. Even when she wasn’t around, he was still mirroring her. 

“It’s been alright, look, I needed your advice on girl stuff-”

“Girl Stuff? What are you, thirteen?” She smirked, maintaining eye contact this time as she was interested.

“-Basically if you have a friend and she has a boyfriend, is it normal to not like him for no valid reason?” He blurted out, subconsciously twiddling his thumbs.

Gigi roared with laughter, very much amused by the situation that Brett had presented her with. Brett couldn’t tell if she was laughing at him or with him, but he hoped the next thing she had to say would be helpful instead of lightly insulting. 

“Boy, if I had a quarter for every time I had to pretend that my girlfriends’ boyfriends weren’t ugly as shit, you wouldn’t be seeing me here!” She exclaimed, putting her tablet aside before continuing,
“Seriously, I’m only friends with eights and above, and I see these girls settling for fours’ Brett!”

Brett nodded, listening attentively. He would never hate someone based on appearances, although he did find it frustrating that Ron hadn’t cared for them at all. He clearly didn’t use conditioner which only added to the idea of him being incredibly reckless and apathetic both towards looks and feelings.
This conversation currently wasn’t helping  to tame Bretts’ thoughts. 

“I don’t think I dislike Ron because he’s ugly.” He mindlessly stated, still thinking.

“Oh, this is about Ron ?”

“Well, I don’t have any friends besides Reagan. I really want to support her but I don’t know why it’s so difficult!”

Gigi looked at him for a moment, rubbing her chin for a few seconds as if she was carefully trying to orchestrate her words to him.

“It’s normal to feel left out once a friend gets into a relationship,” She finally spoke, and Brett felt slightly relieved that she understood,
“But, you seem way more attached and jealous about it. You’re an open book, and everyone can see it sometimes. I would never cringe if I heard that Ron got a reservation at Rite Poisson.”

“That restaurant name doesn’t even make sense!” Brett quickly clapsed his hands over his mouth to shut himself up. 

Was Gigi right? That this whole time he had been jealous? That had to be impossible. It was one thing to people please out of fear of abandonment, that made sense to him. But resentment from jealousy? It was so alien.

Gigi nodded sarcastically, followed by an ‘mhm’ before going back to her media project. Leaving Brett with a sense of moral panic.

He gulped, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing I can’t get over.” 

At least now he was aware of his feelings, jealousy. The thought made him shiver slightly, but he could get over it. A few more days of faking couldn’t hurt. He just didn’t have to show any feelings that would indicate that he wasn’t happy for Reagan, otherwise that would make him a bad friend. Another conversation for his therapist. 

The conversation with the therapist had not gone well, given that it gave the poor man more questions about himself than answers.

“Unfortunately, our time is up-”

“Wait- But- How do I stop-”

“That, is something you should reflect on for the week.” 

The interaction echoed in his mind, Brett had caught himself up in a cycle of disdain and passive aggressive remarks that he couldn’t stop himself from saying. For the first time, Reagans’ poor ability to tell tone was actually something he was relieved by, as it saved his ass time and time again from a rift in their friendship.

‘He’s so amazing-’ Brett would sarcastically say before regretting his tone immediately only to be met with a ‘I know right!’ from Reagan, cheering as she got a text response back. Not even bothering to look at her friend. 

The jealousy had been slowly eating away at the ginger, and yes, he had finally come to terms with what it was. A slurry of his abandonment issues, deep attachment and the envious pains he got whenever Reagan would call Ron the love of her life. 

Why couldn’t this phase be over already! It had to stop before Reagan would start feeling like Bretts support had been weakening because everyone else on the team could tell within an instant. Gigi had been the first to tell Brett when he asked, but later on, Andre started asking if Brett needed anything to ‘calm the nerves’ because Brett had been scribbling on his paper rather aggressively. It totally wasn’t in response to hearing Reagan gush about Rons’ new favourite ice cream store which they had gone to on a date. 

If anyone should be eating ice cream with Reagan, it should’ve been him! That’s a purely platonic thought to have, right? Bet Ron doesn’t even know what Reagans’ favourite flavour is, well, he probably knows now that he’s gone out with her. Focus! 

He had to get his behaviour under control, otherwise he’d have to stop attending work, which meant stop seeing Reagan, which meant the end of their friendship!  He had found himself in a dire lose-lose situation. Not to mention that he was basically lying, not only to himself but also Reagan. While what Ron said was true, that it didn’t matter whether they liked each other as long as they both cared for Reagan, Bretts’ resentment started going further than a few differences in opinion. He wanted Ron gone, blaming him for the sudden difference in the friendship dynamic. 

Brett was being sidelined and he didn’t like it. It was affecting him way too much to be healthy, and although he knew that he should listen to his therapist and not base his worth on what others thought of him, it still felt extremely annoying to hear about this one guy over and over. It was all Reagan could talk about. 

He could listen to her infodump for hours about her tinkering but her fixation on this guy had to be worse than nails on a chalkboard. 

During this time, Gigi had been the victim of Bretts’ misdirected pessimism. 

“Did she say anything, about not liking Ron anymore?” He inquired in the lunch room as he poured himself a glass of cold milk.

Gigi sighed, “No, you ask that every time I finish talking to her. I thought she told you everything.”

“She does! But, y’know, maybe there's some stuff she forgets and decides to tell you instead.”

“Wow, you are really upset about this relationship. I thought you said you were gonna’ get over it?”

“I’ve been trying!” He raised his voice, before retreating away a bit, feeling more conscious.
“I’ve been trying really hard, I literally cannot shake the feeling. I think somethings wrong with me, it’s like all this negativity keeps being generated and I can’t stop spewing it out! My therapist told me to journal it but I often end up tearing pages and pages out of the book! I think I’m turning evil…”

Bretts’ face dramatically frowned and his eyes widened at his ‘realization’.

Gigi rolled her eyes, “You’re not turning evil, if it’s bothering you so much, maybe you should talk to Reagan about it-”

“No way! Then she’ll know I’m not supporting her!”

“-It’ll mean that you’re concerned for her, and that’ll show her that you care.”

“Can’t we just kill Ron?”

“Brett!”

Brett sighed, chugging the glass in his hand before slamming it on the table. He knew he was being irrational about this whole thing.

Gigi continued, her face hard to read,

“I know it’s hard, but maybe this is a conversation you should have. And stop asking me about every conversation I have with her! You know I’ve got people dying to know what I listen to that would actually pay me.”

Brett nodded, thanking Gigi again before walking out and towards Reagans’ office. Whether or not he was ready for the conversation he was about to initiate, there were just some things that had to be said.

Chapter Text

‘Okay, no big dealio’. Just tell Reagan to tone down the boyfriend talk so that you can get over feeling left out!’ He thought to himself, not even analyizing why the boyfriend talk pissed him off. 

He walked up to the door, knocking twice before waiting for a response.

“Give me a second!” He heard Reagan behind the door before she opened it,
“Oh hey,” She looked… awake? Man, this guy was really changing her! When did she start forming smile lines? 

“Hey Reags, are you busy?”

Reagan shook her head, before her notifications rang on her phone. She grinned as she pulled it out of her pocket and started typing away. She walked back to her chair, indicating Brett to come in as well.

“Not now, but soon I might be!” Her eyes shone, and Brett knew exactly who she was texting. His stomach churned.

“Oh… That’s cool- Uhm, I needed to kind of talk about something with you?”

“Shoot!” The brunette replied, reclining in her chair, not looking up.

Brett frowned, “I was wondering if during team meets, that you would stay work oriented.”

“What?” Now it was Reagans’ turn to frown. Work oriented? She was always work oriented!

“I’ve noticed you’ve been kind of side-tracked on work lately, and I know you’ve been needing a break but I’d rather you take your vacation days then spend time talking about things that aren’t really relevant.” The man in front of her was clearly bouncing around the issue, trying to frame the real problem as something to do with work and totally not a personal gripe.

“Relevant? Brett, when is anyone in our team actually focused on work? A few months ago, you couldn’t shut up about that weird 80’s band.”

“Oingo Boingo- Listen, I know that’s hypocritical of me to say but we need at least one person to care right?”

“Oh, and you want it to be me again?” Reagans’ tone got defensive, and she put her phone down entirely to lean forward on her desk. 

Brett inhaled deeply, of course he wanted Reagan to be happy and not stress about the team but he couldn’t deny that she had been acting so differently before this guy. Before she was determined, strong-willed and justifiably aggressive. Now she acted like she was in a preteen disney show, always giggling at her phone and being gushy with her stories. Talking about how this guy completed her, how it was meant to be, how nothing could ruin this for her. Was Brett not enough? Why couldn’t he make her feel the same, what did this guy have that he couldn’t give her. Reagan was always complete to Brett, and he wanted her that way. He always saw his place in Reagans’ life as her cheerleader because she was her own strong independent person. If this Ron guy wasn’t treating her the same way then why on earth should they be together!

“Well I miss not having a co-leader, you’re too busy with-” Brett hesitated, “I miss-”

“Too busy with what? I haven’t gone anywhere, I’m still working.” Reagan gestured towards the rest of her office.

“I know, I just-”

“Brett, if you care so much about work, there’s really nothing to worry about.”

“This isn’t about work!”

“Then what? I’m not going to say I’ve been prioritizing work the same way but I’ve hardly stopped or gotten side-tracked,” Reagan sat back in her seat, her tone turning apathetic,  “-and even if I have, it’s nothing I can’t get done over the weekend. By the way, did you know that Ron-” She had gotten back to her phone, and Brett was extremely close to spilling the truth.

“Do we have to talk about Ron right now?” He cut her off abruptly, to which her expression grew surprised.

“Why? I thought you liked him?”

“I do!” Lies, again. He hated it so much. “I do… I just- I already know- He’s not really-”

Reagan squinted, “Did something happen?”

“No! It’s just, he’s not really a priority right now.”

It clicked in her mind so quickly, when Brett said ‘relevance’ he was trying to tell her to stop talking about Ron. But-

“Do you still dislike Ron?” She asked, and Bretts’ heart dropped.

“No! Yes- It’s complicated!” He tried recovering,

“What the hell, Brett! I thought things were chill-”

“They were- They are! I don’t know, he-”

“You mean to tell me that this whole time, you’ve been lying? Why?” She sounded so hurt, and it confirmed that this was a terrible idea.

“I didn’t want you to know, I thought if I told you, you would think I’m being unsupportive!”

“ Are you unsupportive, because now I’m thinking about it and you’ve actually been really off.”

Brett froze, he wished he could run away from this entire conversation right now. Wished that he never initiated it at all. He couldn’t even verbalize half of his feelings and there was just too much tension in the air.

“I, I miss before.” He stated plainly, giving up on masking his true feelings.

“Before what?” Reagan tried to understand him, but found it hard to get anywhere. She couldn’t understand why Brett wouldn’t want her to be with someone if that person made her happy. Ron was her choice, a reflection of what she wanted to do with her life. If Brett couldn’t respect that, then-

“Before Ron! I miss before Ron, I don’t like him and things are so different now.”

“There’s no difference between before and now, we’re still friends, the only difference is that I’m happier.” Reagans’ facial expression stayed the same, hurt and disappointed, she continued, “Do you not like that I’m happy?” Her sarcasm shifted to a genuine pain. He really was being unsupportive.

“Of course I want to see you happy,” Brett clutched at his shirt, feeling almost nauseous as the entire situation had gotten overwhelming.

“Then why are things different?”

“Because he took you away from me!” There it was, the bombshell that set things into perspective for both of them. Brett quickly covered his mouth. Frozen, and waiting for a reaction.

Reagan blinked, still processing what he had said.

“Took me away?” Her brows furrowed, unsure of how to feel. Brett being possessive was not something she ever expected, or maybe he was being protective? If he had been feeling like this the whole time then maybe she had been a little too occupied with Ron. But Ron was her boyfriend, and Brett was her friend who had turned on her before and sometimes didn’t even have her back. It wasn’t wrong of her to indulge in someone else.

“I didn’t mean that- I meant- I’m sorry. I just miss you.” The man across from her held his face in his hands. Great, not only did Reagan now feel like he didn’t want her to be happy, but she can’t even confide in him anymore.

“I’m still here, Brett.” She said nonchalantly, looking at the floor.

‘It’s not the same’ Brett thought, and if this relationship was serious then it never might be. And that ached at him.

He nodded, apologized for taking up her time and left. Almost ready to burst into tears, he clutched his arm while walking with his head hanged low.

Gigi waved and walked up to him to ask how it went. Only to be met with the most glum expression she had ever seen, and she worked with footage of sad puppies. She wanted to ask what had happened but by observation, she could tell that it probably went poorly. She gave him a pat on the shoulder as he continued walking. 

He needed to go home, being around anything Reagan-ish would probably tip him over.

‘Why did it hurt so much?’  He mentally asked himself, and wish he could answer. All he wanted was to be Reagans’ number one in everything because she was his, and share their personal lives together. That was a totally reasonable thing to ask for! Friends do that, room mates do that.

‘But friends let each other have partners-’ He was letting Reagan have her partner! Her partner was him, right? He sighed, knowing by partner she wanted a romantic one. 

He sat in his car, turning it on and playing his favourite song to cheer himself up. Still thinking to himself as the music started. 

‘I can do romance.’ He obliviously spoke to himself in his head, as he would do anything it takes to have Reagans’ attention. He could take her out on dates, take her to Rome, buy her things, give her hugs and kisses. Anything if it meant she was happy, but would he be happy too?

The song played in the background, and Brett sang along automatically while driving.

“So she said what's the problem baby, what’s the problem, I don’t know-”

‘Well maybe I'm in love (love), think about it every time I think about it. Can't stop thinking about it.’

Back to his train of thought, was he really imagining himself as Reagans’ boyfriend right now? No, no he was just people-pleasing in his own mind again. He knew he’d be happy being Reagans’ friend too as long as there wasn’t anyone else! He just needed to always be there for her without her minding. He was always cast aside by others but she was finally a person who had treated him as number one even for a short while and he just couldn’t let it go. 

He just wanted to see her smile at his jokes and have her find solace in his presence. He wanted to make her feel calm and peaceful, he wanted her to wake up contently because she knew that he was there for her. He wanted her to be herself because he loved everything about her. He loved her fury, her passion. Her weirdness, her slightly evil tendencies. He treated her with care, not only because he was caring but because Reagan was careless. He didn’t mind that about her either, but he knew that Ron wasn’t the type of guy to understand when things got tough. And Brett regretted not being there for Reagan when she needed him, and he regret sending her off to that AA meeting instead of spending time with her.

 All he ever wanted was right in front of him and he gave it away to someone who didn’t even deserve it. Ron didn’t know Reagan, he didn’t see Reagan fight her dad or cry or kill lizard people or incinerate the president. He didn’t know how she liked her coffee, or that her favourite bagel was poppyseed because Reagan always said “Did you know that poppy-seeds are lethal when eaten in larger amounts, it’s like I’m risking my life for some bread!” after taking a bite just to see Bretts’ expression. Ron didn’t know any of that, because that was a Brett-Reagan thing. Those were Brett-Reagan moments. How could Ron possibly understand? Ron couldn’t understand Reagan the same way Brett did, and he couldn’t understand what Reagan needed.

But Brett did, and he needed things too. 

He needed to care for her and be allowed to drop by. He needed to comfort her and take her out without it being weird. He needed to be able to hold her and hold her hand and call her at 3 AM when his favourite movie made him cry and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. And he wanted her to feel that way about him too. It wasn’t a big deal, he just needed her all the time, because she made him feel happy and comple-

The song finished just as Brett broke out of his thinking zone, being able to hear the final verses clearly.

‘Love, I’m in love.’

“I’m in love.” Brett sang along.

Oh. Ohhh. 

Brett Hand was an idiot, a very very  oblivious  idiot.

He was in love with Reagan, of course! 

He had to tell her- No- He had to- Oh god, what does this mean for their friendship! He’s been pining this entire time, and subtly pushing Reagan away too! He had to make up for it somehow, while also not involving anything with Ron. Also try not to let his feelings come out, and stop saying he hates Ron while still hating Ron at the same time. Fuck Ron! 

Immediately making a U-turn, he drove back to Cognito. He had to tell someone- Gigi! Man, he had really been bothering Gigi with all of this, he needed to make up for that too. Wait, there was that new makeup set at Sephora- Focus!

Rushing inside, he looked around for his wingwoman (Is that what she was now?)
“Has anyone seen Gigi?” He asked loudly, before running towards Andre.

“Andre, have you seen Gigi?”

Andre was holding a salad before sprinkling on some ‘assorted seasonings’, he was always up to some new way to consume drugs, despite being more than a drug guy. Brett had to hang out with the gang more, but not before he got things sorted out with Reagan.

Andre shook his head, “Last time I saw her was in Reagans’ office, but knowing the condition of that place, she probably wasn’t there for long.”

Damn it! Brett bolted to see if she was still there. His heart already racing from his shocking revelation, and now the adrenaline.

Luckily, Gigi had just come down to the ground floor. Obvious that she had come from the Media Manipulation sector.

“Gigi!” Brett yelled, catching her attention quickly before running up to pull her aside. He whispered frantically,
“IThinkI’mInLoveWithReaganAndThat’sWhyIWasActingSoWeird, do I tell her?”

“What? You need to repeat all of that and slow down. ” Gigi tore her arm away,

“I said, I-think-I’m-in-love-with-Reagan!” His voice still low and frantic.

“Oh, well, pff- Duh!” Gigi smiled,

“What!”

“I thought you knew that already, but thank you for telling me. You just won me $50.”

“Huh! Who were you betting with?”

“Andre.” She turned her head to stick out her tongue towards Andre, indicating that she had won the bet and teasingly blew a kiss as well. Much to Andres’ annoyed expression now that he was 50 dollars broker.

“Should I tell her or not?” Brett directed Gigis’ attention back to him again.

“That’s on you, but if you want to, now’s a really good time.”

“Why? Reagan and I just had the worst conversation in the history of friendship!”

“You didn’t hear? She’s moving.”

Reagan moving? Out of Cognito, away from the city? Moving where? With who? Why? Without a text goodbye? Was her dads’ pressure that bad? Did Brett drive her away?

“Moving? Without telling me- us? Who will run the team and manage Robotics and do the time car-”

“Brett! You have got to stop asking me questions I don’t know the answer to, do I look like Reagan?”

“Not at all.”

“Then go! Go ask her and tell her how you feel! She’s driving to Appleton, you’ll make it if you speed. Don’t worry about it, I’ll cause a scandal while you’re causing accidents.”

Gigi was right, if he didn’t tell her now he might never get the chance. He’ll be all old thinking about all the things he wished he had said and he knew Reagan would still be number one on his mind.

Gigi was also being really nice this month, Brett really admired her confidence. She really was too good for Cognito, most members of the team were.

Running back to his car, again , Brett knew exactly what to do and how he was feeling. Finally. There was a clear plan all on his own, maybe he didn’t need Reagan but he was in love with her. And whether or not she returned the feelings, it didn’t matter as long as they were still BFFs but she needed to know that so that they could put this behind them.

Driving to Appleton seemed far, and Brett thought about how, if this was Reagans’ permanent decision then he would have to cross miles and miles to see her. Which he was willing to do, but as time would pass, it would start feeling inappropriate. Unless, of course, he stopped her. However, he wasn’t sure if that was going to be an easy task.

He drove past many red lights, heard tons of car honks, but luckily no ticket. Gigis’ scandal of ‘socks with sandals becoming fashionably sound’ really had the police hooked. He smiled to himself, mentally thanking her for saving him. 

The sign finally showed, Appleton. And he thanked the universe as he saw Reagans’ car. 

Reagan rocked on the chair which was on the front porch. As Brett walked closer, she looked as if she’d been crying.

She sat up as she saw him, looking mostly confused.

“Brett?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Gigi told me you were moving, well- Now you’ve moved. So I guess she said you were in the process of-”

“Yeah. That’s what I told her.” Reagan looked solemnly at the wood beneath her.

“Is that what happened?” Brett sat down on the chair next to her.

“No. Ron asked me to move away with him, to leave my work. And I just couldn’t do that so…”

“So?”

“So… we broke up, but, I initiated it. He doesn’t know, I wiped his memories so that he could be happy. Maybe if he’s happy, I can be happy later.”

Oh, that kind of tore at Bretts’ heart a bit. How could he have been so selfish.

“Was that really the only option?” Brett wondered.

“Well, you know me. I can’t leave my work, and if we worked together- I don’t know, I would probably find a way to fuck it up somehow.”

“That’s not true,” Brett watched the sunlight grace Reagans’ face as it slowly set. Her eyes’ shining golden brown as the rays reflected upon them. She was beautiful in her own way, maybe Ron saw that in her too.

“Maybe it isn’t, but, hey. At least I’m all yours again right?” She sardonically said, clearly still hurt by both things that happened to her today.

“Reagan, I didn’t mean that. I was- I was jealous of Ron. I just really like you, and I got insecure in our friendship. I thought if this guy stayed in your life, then you would forget about me and leave me behind.” Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a love confession but Brett was emotionally aware enough to sense that his declaration of love wasn’t something Reagan needed to hear right now.

“I would never forget about you Brett, you’re my best friend. I’m sorry if it felt like I was pushing you away, I just got so caught up in the feelings that Ron gave me that- I don’t know, I guess we both just got weird.” Reagan stood up from her chair to face him.

Brett chucked, “Yeah, I’m sorry too. You okay though?”

His friend sighed, “Well, I kind of have to be. I could’ve erased my memories too but, I didn’t want to forget. I needed to learn.”

“Learn what?” Brett stood up next to her.

“Where my priorities lie, and they lie in work so- If I ever meet someone, they just need to be flexible when it comes to that.”

Brett smiled, “I can support that.”
Why did one of the most relieving things to currently happen to him also be so painful for someone else!

Reagan smiled back, and she tossed herself onto him for a hug. Trying not to cry in his arms, still feeling very torn over what happened to her boyfriend. As if the universe never granted her happiness. First Orrin, then Ron. All she had left now was Brett, maybe that’s what was intended. He was the only person who would always stick by her, even if he slipped up a few times. He always ran back, apologizing and making up for it. She knew he would never leave, she supposed that’s why she didn’t expect him to feel anything about her relationship. The idea of losing him seemed way worse than anything else, mostly because, she never imagined that he wouldn’t be in her corner. Cheering her on no matter what. He was still the most supporting person in her life even when he wasn’t feeling supportive at all, so she assumed that was supposed to mean something. 

She felt his arms wrap around her too, knowing she was right. He drove all the way here to see her, so it’s not like he didn’t care. What she didn’t know was that he cared too much sometimes, which he was still sorting out. It wasn’t anything they couldn’t figure out together.

“I’ll always be here for you Rae, and I won’t go back on that promise ever again.” Brett said, breaking the comfortable silence.

“I know.” Reagan gave a small smile as she wiped the corners of her eye.

“Is there anything I can do? We could go out for bagels to make you feel better, I know the joint with the-”

“The poppy seeds and the tofu cream cheese?” She chuckled and Brett nodded.

“I still don’t know why you like that stuff.” He commented and they both began walking down from the porch.

“Well, you know about the poppy seeds, I like the tofu cheese cause’ I have a shitty gut.”

Brett listened, feeling mostly joyous that things had gotten sorted out. Of course it would take time for Reagan to move on but he would gladly be there for her. It didn’t matter what drove a wedge in between them, Brett was determined to climb it and tear down any obstacle. He would never make himself feel second because he knew that he would never let himself not stand with Reagan when she needed it. He needed to give her whatever she needed, and he had finally come to terms with that.

Whether she ever reciprocated his feelings or not, he was Reagan for life. And he was finally happy that she knew that.