Work Text:
I never thought I would be the one with a torn and broken heart. I am THE Hangman, I am supposed to be impervious to others hurting me. My walls had been so high no one should have been able to reach my heart. However, he came in with his terrible mustache and golden skin and started to worm his way into my heart. That of course was before he walked away and never looked back.
Years before the mission back when we were both fresh out of TopGun we were close. Bradl… Rooster spent hours at my house just spending time together. It started as teammates watching football and drinking beer, but slowly morphed into something so much more.
When I got called back to Miramar I knew what the risks were. Waiting to see if Rooster showed up was an excruciating and gut-wrenching experience. I sat with bated breath not being able to tell if I was terrified of seeing him again or if the thought of being around his long arms and beautiful voice was something I wanted. Then, he walked in and all I could think about was the day he left.
We never officially moved in together, but I thought we wanted the same things in the future, but while I was falling in love, Rooster was just having fun. When I woke up that morning everything was normal. I turned over and saw him sleeping, hair ruffled and fluffy; he looked adorable and I had no clue what was coming.
I got up and started making coffee just like I did every morning Rooster stayed over. When he got up nothing felt out of the ordinary, we ate breakfast and joked about stupid things our friends had done. While Rooster had the day off I went to work and dreamed about moving in and taking our relationship further. Then it all fell apart.
I decided to pick up dinner at Rooster’s favorite Italian restaurant and headed home ready for a night in with my best friend and the man I loved. However, when I walked in the house was dark and everything felt wrong. I decided to search around the house but the ball of fear in my stomach was all I could feel. When I looked into our… my room everything Rooster has accumulated in my house was gone. His clothes, terrible Hawaiian shirts, even his little mustache comb and toothbrush that used to sit on my bathroom counter. I couldn’t breathe and it felt like my heart was being shredded. My knees had buckled and I lay on the cold, hard ground sobbing until I fell asleep from exhaustion.
Now Bradle… no not my Bradley anymore. Now Rooster was here in front of me and I felt just like I did that day when he left. He looked just like I remembered and somehow that just made the lump in my throat so much worse. In spite of everything he had put me through, nothing could have prepared me for him acting like I was just another team member that he barely knew.
When Rooster walked in he looked amazing, tall, tan, and like he owned every room he ever walked into. The sight of him made it clear that all the progress I had made to forget our time together was for nothing and he did not even care. Javy looked over at me clearly worried that I was going to break down, but he had no idea how close he was to right. I could barely stand with everyone while we played pool, but I couldn’t let him know how much he affected me. I did the only thing I knew how to do I put my walls up and made sure everyone knew that I was the best and nothing would phase me. That was until he made his way to the piano.
I hate the stupid Jerry Lee Lewis song not because it was bad, but because Rooster used to sing it to me late at night and on car rides down old back roads. As he started to sing my eyes were stinging and my throat tightened. I could barely breathe with the waves of pain and heartbreak I was feeling. So, I did what made the most sense. I walked out the back door and ran away just like he had all those years ago.