Chapter Text
He'd follow this man anywhere.
The first time was an accident.
The second time was a coincidence.
The third time was luck and the fourth time was planned.
As an airline pilot, Bradley had never felt comfortable with the idea of having a relationship like his father has had with his mom. It had been a mystery to him how his father and mother had a happy marriage when Nick Bradshaw was gone so much. He had loved flying and his mother had trusted her husband to remain faithful to her even when he was far away in other countries all over the world and the few memories Bradley had of his father were all positive. His father was a loving man, full of positivity and joy until a tragic accident ended his life. An error in the instruments caused his father and 117 other people to close their eyes forever, his Uncle Pete being one of the 5 survivors of the accident.
The whole thing left Pete with a strong trauma, he blamed himself for the deaths of the 118 people even if he couldn't have prevented the deaths. He had been the pilot flying, but it wasn't his fault. After the incident he stopped flying large planes; the responsibility had worn him down. Now he flew smaller private planes and seemed happy with the job. Bradley had never blamed him for his father's death but that didn't seem to make a difference.
After Bradley's mother died, Pete had taken good care of him. He had married a man with a lot of money and fulfilled Bradley's every wish. Despite the death of his parents, Bradley had grown up well and, thanks to his godfather's husband, had enough money for flight training, which Pete had initially been against. Eventually he came to terms with it and Bradley worked his way up to his rank, investing a lot of time in flying and eventually becoming captain.
Bradley had always had a fascination with airplanes and, even as a young boy, he had always pretended to be a pilot himself, dressing up as one and having toy planes and running around with them. It had been a hard way, especially since he failed the test the first time, but he eventually managed it.
In his 16 years as a pilot he had managed 4 relationships. 3 of the 4 relationships had ended ugly, either his partner had accused him of cheating on her when he was gone or when he came home he had found one of his exes in bed with someone else. His longest relationship was with a lovely flight attendant. The relationship had lasted 4 years but eventually she had decided that she wanted children, something he had never dreamed of, and so they parted ways on good terms. When she married only 3 years later he had even attended the wedding and he knew by now she was already expecting her second child. In the 16 years of his flying career and his plans not to start any more relationships, there was one thing he hadn't taken into account in all his planning.
The first time the cocky, almost arrogant first officer stumbled into his life was a rainy Thursday. He had been standing at the airport terminal in Copenhagen, waiting to finally get on the plane, this time as a passenger. He was freezing because the rain outside had left him wet and his clothes and his hair took long to dry. His flight back home was canceled due to extreme weather conditions in Denmark, as there was even a coast warning. Now 3 days later he was supposed to take the next flight as a passenger because the severe storm had finally subsided. He was getting a coffee when a brown-haired man ran into him without apologizing. Shaking his head, Bradley had grabbed the guy and turned him toward him, only to freeze. The first thing he noticed was that the man was a pilot. The second thing was that the man was good looking. Really good looking.
"Something's wrong?" The pilot asked with no real interest in his voice in an accent while a slight grin was visible on his lips. Despite the fact that he seemed relaxed on the outside, Bradley could tell that the man was a little tense. He tilted his head and looked him up and down.
"Pilots shouldn't be so arrogant, it's dangerous in the air and can kill people. Plus, next time when you bump into people, apologize." Bradley raised an eyebrow. A little politeness could be expected; he had already met many pilots who thought they were better than everyone else. Flying with those kind of pilots was always the worst, they were too proud to admit mistakes and when the landing wasn't right they tried to force that landing.
"I'm not arrogant honey, I'm in a hurry. Now excuse me but I have to go." Before Bradley could say anything or even look surprised, the man was gone. He looked at his coffee, which he had spilled because of the man, sighed in annoyance and got some tissues to clean the wet spot on the table. Airport coffee was already expensive, and spilling it was annoying. Lost in thought, he threw the tissues away when everything was dry again. He just hoped the pilot would be more considerate in the air than on the ground.
The second time he met the man was when he was waiting in the lobby for his plane, which was late, and his eyes immediately fell on the man sitting back on the quite comfortable lobby couch with a grin and sunglasses on. His tongue was moving and turning a toothpick back and forth in his mouth. He almost wouldn't have recognized him if he hadn't lifted his sunglasses at that moment and grinned at Bradley so wide that it reached his eyes, those pretty, fascinating green eyes. Bradley sat down next to him and held out his hand, "Captain Bradley Bradshaw."
"Your parents must have hated you a lot, huh?" Still, the man took his hand and before Bradley could respond, he winked at him. "Jake Seresin. First officer. For now."
"Well then, good luck getting to captain. But first you owe me a coffee."
"Is this supposed to be an attempt at flirting? Because if so, it won't work because I'd much rather be invited."
"No Seresin, that's an order because you spilled my coffee last time when you bumped into me."
Recognition flashed in Jake's eyes and he shook his head in resignation, grumbling. "Of course this happens to a pilot of all people and not to a stranger who I will never see again anyway." He stood up, stretched briefly and went to the door of the lobby room. "All right, Bradshaw, but next time you invite me."