Work Text:
Look, Bradley doesn’t even know how he ended up on this set, much less how he landed a date with a guy he’s a thousand times sure is out of his league.
(Alright, that’s a lie.)
Maybe he should rewind.
His day had started pretty normally, all things considered. He’d woken up with the sun, and went on a run, like normal. What hadn’t been normal, was one Natasha Trace sitting at one of his island stools when he had re-entered his home. While it wasn’t uncommon for Nat to make herself at home in Bradley’s space, she usually did it when the man was aware. Even so, Bradley barely blinked at the new presence and made his way toward the fridge with no hesitation.
He and Natasha had met a couple of years ago when Bradley first moved into his apartment. He had just recently relocated to Nashville after following his godfather and his husband. The two had made the move after a joint retirement incentive. As far as Bradley knew, Ice was more than ready to enjoy life without the duties that came with being Commander of the Pacific Fleet after beating cancer for the second time, and Maverick realized that to do so with his husband, he’d have to stop risking his life day in and day out. (There was also some talk of a suicide mission that Bradley didn’t understand.)
When they first met, Bradley had been bringing a box of books up to his new apartment. He was about two steps away from the door when he heard a feminine voice off to his left.
“Cool shirt.”
They’d been good friends ever since.
It of course hadn’t been without adjusting on Bradley’s part. Natasha, he would come to learn one afternoon after being swarmed by cameras and paparazzi, was a very well-known up-and-coming country singer.
(“Why didn’t I know that? Everyone else in this town knows who you are, it seems.”
“Bradley, your music taste is stuck before the 70s.”)
As he uncaps a water bottle he turns on the woman, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Natasha sighs, swinging her body just enough to get the stool to turn her so she is now facing him. He rests a hip on his counter, raising an eyebrow at her guilty gaze. “Seriously, what’s up?” He wasn’t used to seeing the kind of look on Tasha’s face, and it made him somewhat uneasy.
“I need a ride to set today if you don’t mind. Bob was supposed to drive me, but something happened with Hunter, so he’s been stuck at the vet all morning.”
Bradley frowns at the news of Natasha and Bob’s beloved German Shepherd being hurt. Bob had been the second person Bradley had met after his move. After Bradley decided to make the move from San Diego to Nashville with his godparents, he had to scout out new possible jobs. Then, almost like someone had heard him, a flier for a bookstore in town that was hiring appeared on the bulletin board in Bradley’s building lobby.
He’d gone in for an interview the next day, and Bob had been there to meet him. He’d asked him questions more directed at his taste in books than customer service and hired him on the spot without asking them at all. The two quickly became friends more than they were coworkers, and Bradley went on to introduce Bob to Natasha. What he hadn’t expected was Bob and Natasha becoming more than friends. After it happened it was easy to see, but he never would’ve predicted it when he first asked the two if they wanted to all get together.
For a while, Bradley was the only person who knew of the two’s relationship. With Natasha’s social status, her management wanted to be sure Bob was here to stay—and for the right reasons—before they announced that Nashville’s true American Sweetheart had been swept off her feet.
This did make it a little hard for the three, or even just one of the boys and Natasha, to go anywhere without an article out the next day about “Natasha Trace’s hot date!” (If it was Bradley or Bob alternated each week.)
Bradley didn’t mind the articles, he actually thought it was quite funny and always went out of his way to laugh about them with Maverick and Ice. (He did have to convince Nat quite a few times that he really didn’t care about the possible dating opportunities being diminished.) Plus, Bob didn’t seem bothered and shrugged it off when people went out of their way to ship Bradley and Natasha because he knew they were making something out of nothing. But both of them saw the way it pissed Natasha off when she couldn’t do so much as hold Bob’s hand in public.
Finally, months into their relationship and after some long conversations with Natasha’s management, Bob made an appearance with Natasha on the red carpet of the CMT Music Awards. Later, he was seen kissing her softly when she returned to their table after accepting the award for Female Video of the Year for her song Every Little Thing. She had even mentioned Bob in her speech, and the camera got a wonderful shot of the man blushing.
(There were some wonderful fan edits made in the following hours, and Bradley wasted no time sending them all to their group chat.
They were trying to sleep and did not find it amusing.)
It’s been a few years since then, they moved in together about a year and a half ago, and Bradley knows for a fact Bob is shopping for rings.
He scratches his neck as he tosses his now empty water bottle in the trash. “Is Hunter okay?”
The other smiles softly at Bradley and nods. “Yeah,” she taps her phone on her thigh. “Bobby’s been keeping me updated, and they think it’s just a stomach bug. But he’s not going to get out of there in time to get me to set on time.”
Happy with the answer, Bradley pushes off the counter and makes his way to his room, shouting down his little hallway at Natasha on his way. “I have time for a shower, right? I don’t want to show up smelling the way I do right now.”
He knows Nat had looked so guilty because she hates pulling him into her days on different sets, usually because he’ll have to stand around the whole day with nothing to do, or he’ll be bombarded with an avalanche of questions he didn’t want to answer. But he’s told her plenty of times, and he’ll continue to tell her that he doesn’t mind. For one, watching the chaos that is usually music video sets is a whole other version of entertainment, and two, she’s his best friend and he’d do way worse things for her.
He can hear the smile in her voice when she answers. “Yup! You’ve got an hour!”
An hour and some change later, Bradley is pulling the Bronco into a parking spot designated for Nat and killing the engine. The two seemed to be just on time, and Bradley falls in to step behind the brunette as she makes her way confidently through the set. It occurs to Bradley then that he probably should have already asked what exactly they were on set for.
When he finally does, Natasha rolls her eyes fondly. “You know that duet I just recorded?”
He has vague memories of her mentioning some kind of duet with a guy he thinks is named James. “Sure.”
She laughs like she knows he’s only half telling the truth, but continues anyway.
“Well, we’re filming a music video for that.”
He nods then, content enough with the information he’s been given, and once again falls silent as he trails her. It is a kind of magic to watch, people are bustling all around her, and she seems none the wiser as she soldiers on. Finally, they make it to some tent in what seems to be the middle of the madness, and Nat points in the direction of her trailer and asks for him to meet her there.
He agrees with no complaint, and heads towards the area she pointed towards. There’s a row of a few trailers, and Bradley is too busy scanning them for the one that says Nat’s name to notice the dude he walks right into.
“Oh crap! I’m so sorry!”
He grabs the guy's forearm and tries to keep both of them upright. He succeeds, but only by a little. The other laughs and claps him on the shoulder before pulling away. “All good. No harm, no foul.”
As Bradley bends down to pick up the phone the other seems to have dropped, he’s all too aware of the calculating stare on his back. He stands back up quickly, holding the phone out like an olive branch. It’s when he makes eye contact with the other that a lightbulb seems to click in his head. “Hey, I know you!” He points at Bradley animatedly, and he tries not to shrink back from the offending finger. “You’re the one always on those trashy magazine covers with Nat!”
At this, Bradley laughs and the other takes his phone back, slipping it into his pocket. “That’s me. Bradley.” He holds his hand out and only feels self-conscious about it for a split second before the other man is grasping it firmly. “Javy. C’mon man, what are you doing over here? All the fun is out there.”
Javy uses his grip on Bradley’s hand to spin him around and throws an arm over his shoulder, efficiently keeping Bradley with him. He walks them both in the direction Natasha had initially directed him away from.
Neither says much as Javy directs them to the other side of the set, and Bradley laughs at the look of confusion on people's faces. “So, what exactly is it you do?” He hadn’t missed the few looks of admiration some people were sending him where he was snug under Javy’s arm.
Javy hums non-committedly before admitting, “I’m an actor, actually.”
Well, that checks out if the looks on people’s faces are anything to go by. Suddenly he understands all the complaining Bob and Natasha make about his lack of knowledge about pop culture. “I really need to broaden my horizons, it seems.”
“Not a big TV guy?”
He shrugs. “A lot of the stuff I watch, or music I listen to for that matter, comes from decades ago. Didn’t know who Nat was until we got ambushed on the street trying to go to lunch.”
The man next to him really laughs at him then, but Bradley doesn’t feel the need to be insecure or hide away from the sound. He doesn’t get the sense that Javy is laughing at him.
Before the two can continue their conversation, they’re both thoroughly distracted by the events happening in front of them.
Some man who looks to be in his mid-40s is pacing back and forth in front of a tent mumbling to himself. Bradley worries for a few seconds if he’s going to faceplant because he loses his footing, but he seems to be doing pretty well with his pace. To the left of the man's display, Bradley just barely recognizes Natasha before his attention is promptly caught and taken away. Because next to Natasha stands a man who is by all means hot. He’s dressed simply in a pair of black jeans and a matching black button-up, but the jeans hug his legs in all the perfect places, and the arms of the shirt leave no room for debate if the man goes to the gym. His hair is a golden blond and styled to perfection. He’s laughing at something Natasha is whispering in his ear, and his entire face lights up with the reaction. Jesus Christ, he thinks, I should’ve stayed with the trailers.
He’s too busy looking at the mystery man to notice the knowing look on Javy’s face, only catching the tail end of a, ‘here we go…’ before someone else is calling out to them. “Javy!” The older man from earlier has spotted them now, and is looking at the pair with a weird mix of annoyance and hope flickering in his eyes. “Did you find Tanner? Are you Tanner?” He knows the last question is directed at him, but Bradley still throws his head over his shoulder to make sure.
Javy, who is still holding on to Bradley like they’re best friends, shakes his head. “Sorry, boss man, I walked all over the set. This Tanner dude just isn’t here.”
Who the fuck is Tanner? He tries to convey this question to Javy with his eyes, but the actor is not paying a lick of attention to him. He’s looking at the man in front of them, who is instead looking at Bradley like the brunette is the sole cause of every problem in his life right now. “Then who the hell is this guy?”
As if finally noticing their boss was no longer pacing in front of them, or that he was suddenly getting louder in tone, Natasha and her friend look up at the new additions to their group. Bradley pretends not to notice the blonde taking what he is almost positive is an appreciative look at him, but he’s a simple man and is absolutely preening under the attention.
“This is Bradley,” he gives a meek wave to the man burning holes in his head. “And he’s going to fill in as my other half today.”
“Excuse me?” He’s going to what?
Javy only grins, like he knows exactly what he’s doing and didn’t just meet Bradley five minutes ago.
Bradley looks at Natasha then, sure his face is screaming all the versions of help me! it could filter through. She’s very obviously holding back a laugh but doesn’t say anything against the atrocious idea that is Bradley acting. He hasn’t acted since high school theater, and while his high school drama teacher would beg to differ, he wasn’t any kind of prodigy.
The only thing stopping him from immediately laughing Javy off and clearing up the entire misunderstanding that is this situation is the blond in his direct eye-line making him feel like he’s burning alive. It’s stupid, really. He knows it is. But if he does this, and agrees to whatever it is exactly Javy is trying to sign him up for, Bradley is pretty sure he’ll get to spend more time with the mystery man. When he thinks about that, nothing seems too terrible.
Boss Man looks at him again, suddenly not glaring at him like he’s not the bane of his existence. “You got acting experience, son?”
“Technically,” he shrugs and hopes it comes off cool and collected and not like he’s kind of lying.
Boss Man does not look like he believes him, and Bradley thinks for a second whatever Javy’s plan is, it’s not going to work. Instead, the man throws his hands up and exclaims. “Oh, what the hell! I have nothing to lose. Trace, get him to make-up, and somebody catch him up on what he’s going to be doing.”
Just like that, Natasha is taking him by the arm and whisking him away, asking in a very amused tone. “Did we gain an acting degree in the time I was gone, Brad?”
He looks at her, and her eyes are bright. “You know I used to act.” She does, and for some reason, she doesn’t call him out on the fact that it was in shitty high school plays.
They arrive at make-up with no problems, and Bradley sits in a chair while some nice-looking woman starts matching his skin tone to some of her products, and Natasha tells him exactly what it is he’ll be doing.
“It’s very simple really, and that’s the only reason I’m allowing this. And because I can’t wait to see Bobby, Mav, and Ice’s reactions. ” He laughs a little and promises not to mess up her music video for good measure. (“I know you won’t, you idiot.” ) “So, basically…”
His best friend explains the concept of their music video to him pretty quickly, mostly because he’s being rushed to a random area so he can take ‘couple photos’ with Javy that the two will look back on ‘wistfully’—“Do not laugh at me Bradshaw, so help me! That is how I was told it would go!”—at the beginning of the video.
On the way out of the trailer, with Bradley in a shirt that is decidedly not Hawaiian print, they run into a new face. “Oh hey, you must be Bradley! Javy told me we changed actors. I’m Reuben!” He holds his hand out, and Bradley only has time to shake it and mutter a nice to meet you before Natasha is pushing him forward. Bradley raises an eyebrow at Natasha, waiting for her to explain who he is since she didn’t give him time to properly introduce himself.
“Reuben’s filling the role of the guy Javy moves on from you with.” She tells him easily, still walking towards their destination.
“Pretty progressive of you guys, making the video queer.” Bradley doesn’t say it with any sort of tone, simply making an observation. (He obviously had no place to judge, he’s still thinking about Nat’s duet partner from earlier.) She shrugs as she turns a corner. “Jake’s gay, it was his one request for the video, well other than making sure we brought in Javy, and you know I don’t give a shit.”
He tries to do his absolute best at keeping the confirmation that Jake is in fact into men from affecting from, but the look on Natasha’s face when she looks at him tells him he failed miserably. “Shut up,” he mutters just before the two make another turn and join the group. They’re all cluttered in the backyard of what Bradley can only assume is someone’s home. Javy and Nat’s duet partner are standing off to the side talking in hushed tones. The boss from earlier is looking at a clipboard, and there’s a camera crew scattered around.
“Jake, Javy!”
The two look up in tandem and begin to make their way over. Once they’re right in front of them, Jake speaks. “I think we’re the only ones who haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Jake.” He once again looks Bradley up and down, and Bradley immediately zones in on the way he flips the toothpick that is in his mouth. The brunette stands just a little bit taller. “Nice to meet you, then.”
Jake looks into his eyes then, a satisfied smirk on his lips. Bradley doesn’t think he imagines the way the blond leans just a little bit further into his space when he returns, “Likewise.”
Before any more can be said Javy knocks Bradley on the shoulder with a look on his face he can’t read. “Ready to be in love?”
Jokingly, he looks Javy up and down and smirks, “I don’t think it’ll be too hard.”
The other practically howls with laughter and leans heavily on Bradley’s shoulder. He chuckles and wraps a hand around his back, trying to make sure the other stays up. He looks at Jake again, frowning at the way his expression has soured. He’s looking at Javy like he’s doing something wrong, and for the first time Bradley thinks back to Natasha’s words from earlier: “making sure we brought in Javy”.
Oh. Oh.
He had been wrong. Jake hadn’t been looking at him like that, he’d been trying to figure out the guy who was going to be playing opposite of his boyfriend in his music video.
Quickly, he pulls back from Javy just a little bit and leans more into Nat’s space. He knows Jake follows the movement, but he tries to ignore it. Nat raises an eyebrow at him, but he only shakes his head. He opens his mouth to move the conversation forward, but Boss Man beats him to it. “You’re here! Great, let's get this started.”
The crew walks Javy and him through a few poses, most of which are no problem for the two to follow, and it is over in no time.
Most of the day goes like that. Bradley does a fine job with the part he was given, and there were of course some location changes for different sections of the video, but almost everything is in close distance to the central set and had obviously already been informed of the filming.
After it got dark, Bradley made his way to his Bronco, in a new outfit once again. He’s supposed to meet the crew and his friends (old and new) at a bar in town that they were letting them film in. This would also be where Jake and Natasha were going to set up, something about singing on stage. They wanted to film him driving, so they sent a camera crew member to sit with him on the way, and he hoped it wouldn't be too awkward driving with someone just holding a camera in his face.
Otherwise, nothing had been bad and Boss Man (whose name he finally learned was Bernie) even said he was doing good. He’s leaning on the hood of the Bronco when he hears hushed whispering. He looks up from where he was texting Mav and just barely makes out Jake and Javy’s figures in the dark. They’re standing a few feet away, and Javy is waving his arms around like a madman while Jake just crosses his and shakes his head.
Bradley tries not to stare, but he’s a little curious. Then, he watches as Javy grabs Jake by the shoulders and forcibly pushes him in his direction. Bradley raises an eyebrow with a slight smile on his face as Jake grumbles something he can’t hear and makes his way in front of him. He stops a few inches from him and smiles at Bradley almost shyly. “Hi.”
He pockets his phone. “Hi yourself.”
From what Bradley’s learned throughout the day, Jake’s a nice guy. A little cocksure and snarky, but genuinely good. He joked around with him and Nat when the three found themselves together, meeting both of them tit-for-tat. There was something about him, even when he was pushing at Bradley for messing up a take one too many times. He helped plenty of crew members throughout the day, and Bradley saw him doing water runs for almost everybody when he had the chance instead of just standing around. Bradley curses the fact that he and Javy seem to be such a good couple.
Jake doesn’t say anything after that, and Bradley tries not to seem impatient as they stand there. Finally, Jake clears his throat and smirks. He puts both hands in his pockets, and all the nervous energy he was just emitting is switched out for pure confidence. “What are you doing Saturday, Bradley?”
A shiver runs down his spine when he says his name, and he wonders how a virtual stranger can have such an effect on him. He thinks for a moment why Jake would be asking him that, and comes up empty-handed.
“Nothing that I’m aware of, why?”
If possible, Jake seems to get brighter with this information and steps a little bit more into Bradley’s space. Considering he’s already backed against the Bronco, Bradley can’t take a step back.
The man in front of him is still smirking, but there’s a hopeful glint in his eyes. “Would you want to go out with me?”
Bradley sucks in a breath, trying to hold back the immediate yes that wants to spill from his lips. Instead, he looks at the spot where Javy had once been standing, only to find it vacant. His eyes find green ones again then, and Bradley tries not to wince at the growing panic in them.
Jake moves to step back after a few beats of nothing being said, leaving Bradley’s front somewhat colder. Instinctively, he grabs the other's wrist to keep him there. “Wait, wait, wait.” He shakes his head at the man’s confused expression. “I’m sorry, I want to say yes.”
The hope is back now, but it doesn’t diminish the confusion in Jake’s eyes. “Okay, so say yes.” Like it’s that simple. And it could be, but Bradley’s gone and got all in his head and seen things that weren’t there and he can’t.
“I just,” he laughs, because now that Jake is in front of him wanting to go out with him, he can see how stupid he had been earlier jumping to conclusions. “I’m sorry, I had assumed you were dating Javy.”
Jake sputters, looking absolutely flabbergasted. Bradley panics just a little. “I’m sorry! It’s just Nat said something and I started thinking about it in the wrong context, obviously, but I had convinced myself. Which really sucked because you’re hot and you’re nice even when you’re trying to act like you’re not and I really do want to go out with you—” Jake slaps a hand on his mouth to shut him up, and his eyes look the slightest bit fond.
“Look, I don’t know how you got it into your pretty little head that Javy and I are together, but I can promise you were not. So put me out of my misery here and just say yes, Bradley.”
Bradley raises an eyebrow, mouth still covered by the singer's hand. He’s trying to.
When Jake seems to get the memo, he lets go but lingers in his space as he answers him. “Yes, Jake. I would love to go out with you.”
The blonde absolutely beams. “Great, you can pick me up at 7. Nat has my address.” With that, he tilts his head up just the slightest and kisses Bradley on the cheek before walking back toward the set.
He shakes his head as he watches Jake walk away. Only after he’s out of Bradley’s eye-line does he pick his phone out of his pocket again and types up a new message.
bob & nat
brad: i have to cancel movie night this weekend
nat: fuck you
nat: now i owe javy money
bob: what did i miss