Darlin and Stud | Bradley Bradshaw

Mission [Part-1]

Days after my father's best friend and wingman's funeral, he's kicked off of our mission, and essentially the Navy, I'm with my dad after he went to see Penny, my new step mom apparently.

"I have a plan." He says vs a we eat dinner. I look up at him from my spaghetti.

"I know you do." I say. He smiles at my mischievous face.

"All that the training has showed them is that the mission is impossible," he starts starts. I snicker and he stops, looking at me pointedly.

"...Cyclone says. So I'm gonna show them that it is possible." he says. I laugh at his determination.

"Of course you would steal a plane. How can I help?" I say, loving the plan.

"Nice try. I'm not going to let you get court marshaled for me, sweetie." He says. I deflate.

"Oh come on. That's no fun." I whine.

"No, Aria. You'll just sit in on the meeting when the team finds out, and let me handle it." He says.

I do so, reacting to the new mission parameters with the rest of the team the next day, shaking my head to myself. Now I really don't want Bradley going.

My dad puts his plan in motion to show everyone that the mission is possible as the plane he's in shows up on the screen. He does the course in no time and every cheers as he hits the target first try. Cyclone rushes out of the room in anger.

We get the news that he is now mission leader as we approach the time to leave. They have their own private meeting, where my dad chooses Bradley as his wingman.

My heart hurts as I think of my dad and my boyfriend both going on the mission. While I'm proud of them, I'm also a little scared, but I trust my father to make the right decisions. Thankfully, Bradley and I were able to share a lot of time together before the mission, we even stayed together as much as we could on the carrier.

Soon enough, the time for the mission comes. The whole ship is briefed on the mission, and we get to work. I spent all of the day before with Bradley.

Bradley and I walk along the ship together after having dinner with the team. During said meal, all they did was talk about what they'll do after they get back from the mission. I learned that this is the easiest way for them to express themselves before missions. I've learned to care for all of theses pilots, hell even Hangman, and I don't want anything to happen to them.

Oh, my Bradley. At this point I can't really imagine him not in my life. Which makes this even harder, but I know my dad picked right for the mission. We laughed all through the night and I spent time with each pilot, yes even Hangman, getting to know even more about them. They all went off to bed not too far after we all said our goodnights, and I make sure to express my confidence in them.

"Bradley?" I say to get his attention. He hums in acknowledgment.

"I love you." I blurt out. He stops in his place.

"I know you'll make it back, but, I still wanted to let you know that, I love you." I say nervously. He grabs my waist and picks me up, jumping up and down.

"I love you too darlin. So much." I laugh as he put me down.

"I know that, ya big stud." I tease him. We start walking again until we reach the deck outside. We lean on the rails, looking out into the ocean.

"I knew you were my girl ever since you first called me that. I didn't know at the time that you got that line from my momma." He says, turning to me.

"Hey, your momma had game." I say and he chuckles at my statement.

"I knew, too. Ever since I met you I felt like I belong with you. I guess that's why our first interaction was so-" I try to think of a word for what I felt as we sang together in The Hard Deck.

"Yeah. I can't explain it either." He sighs as I give up.

"Im glad we found each other." I say, hugging him. He nods in agreement.

"You have no idea how happy I am to have found you, darlin."

While we made sure to sleep, we also woke up early for me. Bradley watches me as the sun was getting ready to rise as I double checked all of the planes.

It's almost time for them to take off when Bradley pulls me off to the side, next to his plane.

"This is for you." He says, pulling out an envelope. I shake my head as he hands it to me.

"I know, darlin. I'll make it back, but this mission still has its risks. It's not going to be easy, and there's always a chance as a pilot." He explains as I take the letter.

"Okay. But I'm shoving this up your a-"

"Darlin!" He almost shouts as the other pilots look at us as they eavesdrop our conversation, everyone begins to snicker at my comment.

"-when you get back." I finish. He nods, kissing me before getting into his plane. I say my see you laters to my best friend, and my new, other best friend, along with Payback and Fanboy. I walk to my father's plane, where he's already talking to Hondo on the ladder of the plane, and I join them both up there.

"Kick ass, dad." I say as Hondo climbs down. He smiles at my words.

"You know I will Aria. When we get back, you Bradley and I are gonna have a little talk about this blooming relationship." He says, and I nod.

"As long you come back, we'll talk about everything." I say seriously. He nods, and we do our best to hug while he in the plane. I climb down and take the ladder, and Hondo leads me to the control room.