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Jake loves his husband, really, he does. Loves him more than anything in the world. But sometimes, he just doesn’t understand what goes through Bob’s head. He doesn’t understand why Bob would call up Jake’s dad and suggest a family dinner now that Maverick and Rooster have reconciled.
Bob reassured Jake saying that Maverick’s willingness to “just roll with it” about most things would mean they could skate through the dinner easily, no questions asked. Jake didn’t buy it for a second, especially not the way Bob’s eyes were gleaming.
But, as long as his mom didn’t get a motorcycle, that was all that mattered. When Bob asked Jake if he could be good, Jake nodded rapidly. He could be good.
Now, sitting in the car outside of his dad’s house, Jake is starting to sweat. There was a pit in his stomach when they left their rental house, then it grew and grew, through the gates and up the driveway, until now, making his stomach churn.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Jake admits. “I don’t want to go in there and act like my dad isn’t my dad.”
Bob reaches across the center console and takes Jake’s hand. “You don’t have to. No one is going in there and expecting you to act like he isn’t your dad. Just maybe hold off on saying the actual word ‘dad.’ But don’t worry—I have a plan.”
“And this plan does not involve my mom getting a motorcycle?” Jake asks, chewing on his bottom lip.
“No motorcycles,” Bob tells him, gently swiping his thumb across Jake’s bottom lip before pulling him in for a quick kiss. “Just trust me.”
“I do,” Jake murmurs. “I always trust you.”
Bob presses one more kiss to Jake’s lips, soft and gentle, before pulling back. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road. One Seresin-Kazansky-Mitchell-Bradshaw family dinner. We can manage this without murdering or maiming anyone.”
Bob shoots a look at Jake when he says that last part, raising his eyebrows as if to silently say That includes Rooster.
Jake sighs and rolls his eyes, jumping out of the car and walking around to open Bob’s door for him.
Hand in hand, they walk to the front door. Jake has a key, has had a key for years, but something about the house makes him always feel like he needs to knock. The place is like a fort, and he feels safe inside, but the exterior somehow feels unwelcoming. The house is two stories, with a colonial style, something that his dad picked out shortly after first making rear admiral. Lots of columns and front-facing windows. High ceilings and several empty rooms.
He’s not sure if it’s his dad station or just the looming architecture that always leaves him feeling apprehensive, but he raises his fist to knock.
Before his hand makes contact, the door swings open, and his mom is there, beaming. “Jacob, Robert, come on in!”
Jake can see how it nearly physically pains her not to tell him off for knocking at his own father’s house, but Maverick standing in the kitchen down the hall keeps her silent. He holds back a snort at the twitch of his mom’s eye.
Bob smirks at Jake. What a devious man, setting up something so entertaining as this. Jake’s parents are both bound to keep quiet if they want to win a bet, and Jake being there makes it that much more difficult.
“I’m so glad I married you,” Jake leans in to whisper in Bob’s ear. “You’re a genius.”
Bob turns and brushes his own lips against Jake’s cheek before whispering back. “Just wait. It’ll get better.”
Jake shakes his head fondly. The two of them ease out of their shoes and pad down the hall to the kitchen, where he can already hear his dad arguing with Maverick over who the better pilot is. Not this again.
They round the corner into the kitchen, seeing Maverick sitting at the island, his feet kicking in the air due to the height of the barstool. Ice is standing on the other side, slicing vegetables. Ice looks up at the two of them when they walk in.
“Jacob, Robert, glad you two could make it,” Ice says fondly, his voice only rasping slightly. Must be a good day. He puts down the knife and walks around the counter to hug them both. “It’s been too long.”
“You’re getting soft, old man,” Jake teases, but he squeezes his dad tight.
“Good to see you, sir,” Bob says, his hand still partially extended as if expecting to shake hands instead of hug.
Ice was declared 100% cancer-free not too long ago, but the experience has definitely turned him into a hugger. Jake still isn’t quite used to it, having spent most of life receiving firm pats on the back and shoulder or handshakes from his dad.
“Let them go, Tom,” Jake’s mom says from behind them. “Get back to cooking. Jake, go help you—go help him. Robert, will you help me set the table?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bob says, then as an afterthought while following Jake’s mom out. “Good afternoon, Captain Mitchell.”
“Uh, good afternoon, Bob and Hangman?” Maverick seems entirely confused by the whole situation, and he cautiously watches Jake move around the kitchen with the ease of someone who has clearly been there a couple times.
“Hey Maverick,” Jake says. “Hey D—Ice, where’d you put the other cutting board?”
“Vertical cabinet next to the sink,” Ice says to Jake before turning to face Maverick. “Mav, I know you know Jacob and his husband, Robert. Jacob is Sarah’s son.”
Understanding dawns across Maverick’s face. “I didn’t know you were so close with your ex-wife’s son,” Maverick says. “Figures you would. You like taking care of people.”
Ice smiles fondly. “Jacob is a good kid. Sarah did a great job with him. I’m very proud.”
“You should be,” Maverick says. “Kid saved mine and Rooster’s lives. Speaking of—where is he?”
“You’d know better than me,” Ice says, shrugging. “Did he text you when he would arrive?”
“He probably did,” Maverick admits, pursing his lips. He takes out his phone, fumbling slightly with it, and Jake has to hold back a snort, instead getting elbowed by his dad. Old people. “He should be here in the next half hour, it looks like. He says he got tied up with something.”
“Or someone,” Jake mutters. Rooster and Phoenix have had this weird tension since the first time he walked into the Hard Deck the night before they all reported to Top Gun.
Ice turns thoughtful, considering what Jake said. Jake’s sure his dad knows about that, probably more than Maverick does. Really, his dad has eyes everywhere. Jake half thinks that Hondo is probably his dad’s eyes on everything, watching and reporting back, especially on Maverick.
“Maybe Bradley should bring Natasha over for dinner one of these nights,” Ice says casually.
Maverick chokes on the beer he’s drinking, and Jake turns to muffle his laugh in the dish towel thrown over his shoulder.
In the next moment, Jake’s mom waltzes into the kitchen. “What are we all giggling about in here? Is everything ready for the grill?”
“Rooster’s lady friend,” Jake answers helpfully, while Maverick puts his head in his hands, clearly scarred by the mental image.
“Bradley? Pete’s little Bradley?” his mom asks, and Jake and his dad both nod. “He must be so big by now.”
“He’s a grown adult, Mama,” Jake points out, gesturing with the knife. “Same age as me.”
“He should bring her by for dinner,” his mom insists, huffing slightly.
“You don’t even live here, mama, why are you inviting people over?”
His mom crosses his arms. “I used to. I’ll have you know that your—Tom and I were married for fifteen years before we got divorced. I picked out that backsplash.”
“You have excellent taste, Sarah,” Ice says calmly. “I think Bradley should bring her over for a family dinner, as well. How’s the beach house, by the way? I think it’s due for a new roof soon.”
“Did that last summer, Tom,” his mom says cheerfully, very carefully not mentioning that she was taking care of a lot of things last summer while he was in chemotherapy. She bumps Jake out of the way with her hip, and takes his place chopping vegetables next to his dad, moving much more quickly and efficiently. “There, all ready for the grill.”
“Rooster—Bradley’s going to be here in about half an hour,” Maverick tells Sarah. “I can go start the grill.”
Maverick leaves, and the second he does, Sarah and Ice both narrow their eyes at each other, having a silent conversation. It’s eerie, always has been to Jake. His parents are the most amicable divorced people he’s ever met—hell, after Uncle Slider, she’s his dad’s best friend.
“Don’t you mess this up, Thomas,” she says, pointing the knife at Ice. “I want that motorcycle.”
“And you’re not getting it,” Ice says in return. “And please put that knife in the sink. I don’t know why you and Jake keep waving it around. I just beat cancer, do you think I want to die by accidental stabbing from one of you two?”
“You’re so dramatic,” Sarah says, rolling her eyes. “Jacob, Robert is on the back deck. I’m pretty sure he’s secretly supervising Pete with the grill.”
“Mav lives here, Sarah,” Ice says. “He knows how to use the grill. He’s a grown man.”
Sarah huffs. “He’s broken the oven. Twice.”
“Yes, but he can grill. Let it be. Jacob, go join Robert, but just have a beer or something. The seltzer Robert likes is in the drawer in the fridge.”
Jake mock salutes his dad, which gets him waved off with an eye roll. He pulls out a cherry lime seltzer water from the fridge and a beer for himself before heading out back to join Bob. He’ll leave his parents to their nonsense bickering.
When he gets outside, Maverick is leaning against the railing, the beer next to him and his head tilted up toward the sun. Bob is sitting in one of the deck chairs under an umbrella. Jake hands him the seltzer and kisses him before sitting the adjacent deck chair.
“You good, old man?” Jake teases, cracking open his beer.
“I don’t think Sarah likes me very much,” Maverick admits.
Jake inhales sharply through his nose, and Bob shoots him a worried look. He takes a slow sip of his beer before speaking. “I don't think my mama dislikes you, Mav. She’s just protective of—of Ice. Fifteen years of being married to keep other people off their backs about being gay leaves you a little paranoid. I think she just worries that you might run off like you had when the two of them met. Ice was real upset about that, you know? So she’s protective of him. She loves him, after all.”
“You’ve got a point, kid,” Maverick says, taking a sip of his beer. “I’ve been with Ice for over ten years now, though. I’m not going anywhere. What’s it going to take for her to back off?”
Jake snorts into his beer. “She has backed off. Just keep showing her that you plan to stick around. She badgers you because she cares about you, anyway. That’s just how she shows her love.”
“You and your mom are so alike,” Maverick comments. “I don’t know how you got mixed up in this wacky family. Although Ice said you lived with your dad while the two of them were married.”
Jake shoots an exasperated look at Bob. “Yeah, I lived with my dad. You get used to them, though. Plus, I’m her handsome, perfect, only son, so that wins me some bonus points.”
Bob sighs and sips his seltzer. “Don’t worry about them, Maverick. The Seresin circus eventually becomes background noise. It’s easier to just tune them out, or, go out onto the deck.”
“Take Bob’s stealth pilot approach and just sneak out.”
“Weapons system officer, actually.”
“Seriously, no sense of humor.”
Jake and Bob burst into giggles, and Maverick just stares at them, very much not in on the joke.
Suddenly, there’s noise from inside, which sounds like his mother screeching Rooster’s name. Jake winces, knowing he’s going to get a head-to-toe inspection and at least three comments on the mustache. She made his dad keep his face clean shaven because “I’m already your beard; you don’t need another one.”
Ice emerges onto the deck from the sliding door, holding two plates. One with the steaks, and one with the vegetables. He’s looking over his shoulder as he steps out, and he quietly slides the door shut behind him.
“You left Rooster alone with her?” Jake asks. “Harsh.”
“Bradley will be fine,” Ice says, even if he doesn’t sound sure. “Sarah just…”
“Doesn’t like the mustache,” Jake, Bob, and Maverick say in unison.
“Yeah,” Ice says. He walks over to Maverick, and he presses a quick kiss to his cheek. “Grill ready?”
“All yours,” Maverick says.
Ice hums appreciatively and grills the food. Midway through flipping a steak, Rooster emerges, finally free from Sarah. He nods at Jake and Bob, and then does a double-take.
“What are you two doing here?” Rooster asks. “I thought this was a family dinner?”
“Sarah’s my mom,” Jake says lightly, eyeing Maverick standing closer to Ice than necessary for watching him grill. “She hate your mustache?”
“Threatened to find me and shave it in my sleep,” Rooster says. “Otherwise, all hugs and telling me I’ve grown so much. Then a smack upside the head for staying away for so long. I forgot how Aunt Sarah can be.”
“She’s happy to see you,” Ice tells Rooster. “Sarah was upset when you and Mav stopped talking and you stopped coming around. It took a couple months before she stopped setting a plate for you at family dinners.”
“Oh,” Rooster says softly.
“Oh,” Jake echoes, then slaps his thighs and stands. “Well, Robert, what do you say we help Mama make sure everything is ready? Looks like everything is about done.”
Jake extends his arm to Bob, who hooks his arm to his. “Lead the way.”
Together, they head back inside, and they help Jake’s mom finish up everything, pouring ice water at every place and setting the rolls out. Shortly after, Maverick, Ice, and Rooster return, setting the food at the table and taking their place. Ice sits at one end of the table and Sarah at the other. Maverick sits to Ice’s right, and Jake to his left. Bob takes the seat next to Jake, on Sarah’s right, and Rooster sits to Maverick’s right, next to Sarah.
They dig into the food.
“Ice, these steaks are really good,” Rooster compliments. “And Aunt Sarah, these are delicious vegetables.”
“Thank you,” Ice and Sarah say at the same time that Jake says, “Hey, I helped!”
“Dude, you sat under an umbrella while your dad cooked like you were seven and barely able to see above the edge of the grill,” Rooster claps back.
The entire room goes silent.
“Dad?” Maverick asks. He looks between Jake and Ice rapidly. “Dad? Since when?”
Ice sucks in a deep breath. “Well, since Jacob was born in Corpus Christi.”
“Sixteen hour labor,” Sarah says, grimacing. “Jake’s never been an easy kid a day in his life.”
“How did I not know?” Maverick nearly screeches. “Ice, we’ve been married for ten years!”
“Well,” Ice says, shrugging. “I did say that he was my son. It’s not my fault you didn’t believe me.”
“I thought you said he was like a son to you! You were talking about how he took after Sarah.”
“I think he takes after his father more,” Sarah interjects. “I mean, look at them. Add some frosted tips, and Jacob would be the spitting image of Tom at that age.”
Maverick exhales heavily and leans back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. “I can’t believe this.”
Bob extends an open hand to both Sarah and Ice. “Doctor, Admiral, I believe you both owe me five hundred bucks and free picking of Jake’s and my next posting.”
Jake whips his head around to turn to Bob. “You too?”
Bob smirks. “I bet that the reason Captain Mitchell would find out would be because of Rooster at a family dinner. Rooster wasn’t speaking to Captain Mitchell at the time, so they both took that bet, thinking it would never happen.”
“Have I told you that I love you lately?” Jake asks, smiling fondly at Bob
“You could stand to say it more,” Bob says. “I’m thinking North Island for our next posting—close to home, after all.”
“God, I love you.”