Author's Note: Oh my gosh guys! Hi! I am so sorry that I disappeared on you! Life definitely got away from me - between getting covid, throwing out my back, and starting to plan my best friend's wedding I accidentally put Brad and Thea on the back burner *face palm*
But I am back!
I am going to start a regular updating schedule like I did for To Be Loved By You. So every other Friday you will get a new chapter of Feels Like Home!
Without any further ado, here is chapter two of Feels Like Home!
She was beautiful. Her chestnut hair fell down her shoulders in loose waves as she brushed her bangs out of her face with a roll of her eyes. He watched as she tried to swipe mascara on her lashes before the offending hair fell back into her eyes.
"I don't know why I did this," she complained into the phone that was resting on the bathroom counter.
Stef spoke up from the other side of the phone. "Because you've always wanted bangs and you wanted to go to Italy with a fresh look." He could see Stef's fingers forming air quotes from his spot in the bathroom doorway.
"I guess." Thea sighed as she straightened her bangs and ruffled her hair so it fell back into place.
"You guess," Stef questioned sarcastically. "That's literally what you said! Besides, they look great and you only hate them when you're getting ready."
Brad had to agree. Thea would be beautiful no matter what she did to her hair, but when she'd come home with bangs and a darker shade of brown than normal he had been pleasantly surprised. He had to admit that he appreciated her new look.
Thea chuckled at her friend's exasperation as she looked herself over in the mirror. "You're not wrong."
"And you're not conceited," Stef answered with a laugh. "At all."
She looked at him incredulously, as if to say 'Can you believe her?' He shrugged and moved to her side. She tucked herself into his side as he kissed the top of her head. Eyeing the phone still resting on the counter, he said. "Not at all, Sweetheart."
He had meant it sarcastically, but she turned her attention back to the camera, stuck her tongue out, and exclaimed, "See!"
Stef rolled her eyes and groaned as Thea pulled away to primp playfully in the mirror again. Her smile was coy and made his knees feel like jelly. "Besides, it's not being conceited if it's true."
Brad watched as she looked back at their friend, watched as Stef blinked apathetically at the woman beside him, and finally watched as both women's lips cracked into smiles. Giggles filled the room and a pang of guilt shot through his belly.
In addition to texting as much as they could every day, Thea and Stef had set up weekly calls to see each other and stay updated with each other's lives. He was glad that Thea had found a way to keep in touch with her best friend while they were in Italy but he still felt like Thea had given up a huge part of her life to be with him.
He knew that if they were back in Texas the two women would be above the gym getting ready for their night out together. Instead, the woman he loved had to use a phone to see her best friend.
"Oh," Thea's voice pulled him away from his thoughts. Looking at her watch, she said, "We gotta go, Stef."
The other woman's smile faltered for just a second before returning. "Go have fun, guys."
Picking up the phone, Thea answered, "We will. Bug Logan for me!"
"Oh, he'll love that!" Stef laughed as they all finished saying their goodbyes
When she had hung up the phone, Thea turned to him with a smile. "Ready?" Her brow creased in concern when he didn't answer. "Brad." She took his hand. "What's wrong?"
Smiling as best he could, he answered. "You miss her." He lifted his hand to tuck a curl behind her ear.
With confusion in her green eyes, she said, "Yeah." He could hear the question in her voice. She wasn't sure what he was trying to say.
"Do you…" He wanted to ask her. Had wanted to many times since they had boarded the plane in Texas. He just wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. "Do you wish you had stayed?"
Her eyes widened before she let go of his hand to wrap her arms around his waist. He held her against his body and placed his lips softly against the top of her head, readying himself for her answer.
Brad wasn't sure why he was so unsure of her answer. She had seemed so heartbroken when he had brought news of his new station home. She hadn't hesitated for even a moment when he'd asked her to come with him. She had made quick work of implementing Jim and Marie at the gym. And when she told her family and friends that she was leaving with him, she did so with a smile.
Still, there was a part of him that wondered if he'd asked for too much. He'd asked her to uproot her life for him because he didn't want to be without her. He didn't want to be alone again.
Her hair tickled his face as she shook her head against his chest. "No." She pulled away just enough to look up at him. "I miss Stef." She smiled softly and his heart skipped a beat. "I miss Logan and my parents." Standing on her toes, she placed a gentle kiss against his lips. "But you're my home, Bradley."
He smiled as some of his uncertainty lifted. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." She smiled against his lips as she kissed him again. Pulling away from him, she added, "I'd follow you anywhere."
—
It had been hard to pull herself away from Brad so they could meet Fanboy and Payback at the karaoke bar. She had known something was bothering Bradley since they left for Naples. She could see it in the way he looked at her when they talked to anyone back home. When they had first arrived, she had tried to broach the matter but he had simply smiled and kissed her.
She'd learned in their year together that meant he wasn't ready to talk to her so she had waited until he was ready. She hadn't expected that he was unsure if she truly wanted to be there with him.
It was true that she missed her family like crazy. She had never been away from her parents except for when her father was deployed and had barely been separated from Logan since Charlie passed.
And she did wish she could be there for her two best friends as they journeyed into married life together. Even talking on the phone with and texting them both multiple times a week didn't feel like enough to keep her in the loop as they built their life together.
There was also the stress of her first holiday season without her parents, which was only eased by the knowledge that soon they would be in Italy with her and Bradley.
She was also away from the gym, Charlie's gym. She hadn't felt this far away from him since she had lost him. It was why she was having so much trouble letting go despite the faith she had in Jim and Marie.
But there was no doubt in her mind that he was worth all of it. Thea would happily go through all of the stress of missing out on her life back home as long as it meant she got to build a life with Brad.
"Sweetheart," Brad asked as they walked toward their destination. She could hear music coming from a building just a little way up the street. "What're you thinking about?"
She hadn't realized that she had gotten so lost in her thoughts. "You." She smiled up at him and wished, not for the first time, that they didn't have plans. The setting sun made his skin glow, highlighting the faint scars along his jaw, and she couldn't help but think about what that infuriatingly sexy mustache would feel like between her legs.
The two months between getting his orders and now had been a near-frantic whirlwind of moving plans, time with family, and trying to condense their lives into a couple of suitcases; she had been so distracted that she had rarely thought of being intimate with the man she loved. Now that they were a little more settled into their new home in Naples she had a hard time focusing on anything that wasn't Bradley. Tonight was no exception.
As if reading her mind, he leaned close and whispered, "Later."
She groaned as he pulled away with a laugh, but decided that the happy sound bubbling from his lips was enough for now. She would spend the night making sure that raspy laughter surrounded her.
"Rooster!" A man with short-cut black hair and golden skin waved at them from the doorway of the karaoke bar. Next to him stood a taller man with dark skin and a mustache.
Brad lifted his hand in a wave and she followed suit as she giggled. "What," Brad questioned.
"They're gonna call you Rooster all night aren't they?" She waited for his shrug before adding, "Weird."
It was his turn to groan. It had only been a few days since their disagreement about whether or not callsigns are weird and she had taken every chance she had to poke fun at her soldier. "Don't start."
With a smirk, she replied, "Yes, sir." He looked down at her with heated eyes. Hey, she thought. Why should he be the only one that gets to do some teasing?
—
He had seen Thea perform many times at her parent's gatherings and their bar. He'd been the grateful recipient of more than one private performance from his songstress. He'd even experienced stolen moments in the rays of the early morning sun as she strummed the strings of her guitar and sang quietly to herself.
But Brad had never seen Thea perform quite like this. He laughed as she belted out the words to I Want It That Way on stage. Off-key. Her voice pitched and dipped awkwardly and her body rocked from her laughter. Payback and Fanboy sang alongside her, their voices just as out of tune as hers.
Before the three had taken the stage, Fanboy had insisted that karaoke was always more fun when the performers were awful. Thea, who usually took great pride in her musical ability, had simply shrugged and followed the two soldiers on stage. Based on the smile on Fanboy's face, Brad felt comfortable assuming that he was pleased with their mediocre performance.
Thanking the waitress that was depositing another round on the table before him, he watched as his companions bowed dramatically on stage. Their laughter was loud and happy as they made their way back to the table. The wide smile on Thea's face was absolutely breathtaking.
"That was great," Fanboy exclaimed as he plopped back down in his seat.
Thea sat in the chair that had been pushed close to his so she could lean against his side and placed a warm kiss on his cheek. Beaming, she agreed. "I wasn't sure about being awful on purpose but that was fun." She smiled across the table at their new friend as she picked up her glass and lifted it to her lips.
Payback pursed his lips and hummed. "Gotta say I'm a little disappointed though."
Turning her attention to him, Thea tilted her head and repeated, "Disappointed?"
"Well, yeah." The other man smirked at him over his glass. "I was told that when you sing the clouds part and the sun shines and the world as a whole becomes a happier place."
"Magical," Fanboy interupted as he tried to hide his smile behind his lifted glass. "I believe the word magical was used."
"That's right," Payback exclaimed, nodding his agreement. Brad could feel his skin become tight and hot with embarrassment as Thea's eyes moved toward him. There was a soft smile on her face and a playfulness in her eyes that let him know that she was moved by the compliment and wasn't going to let him live it down anytime soon.
"But, see…" He pointed back toward the stage where a woman was singing a very unnerving rendition of I Touch Myself. "That was not magical."
Giving him another warm smile, she turned her attention back to the two soldiers across the table. "Well, now in my defense I didn't know you were expecting," she lifted her hands above the table and let her fingers dance through the air as she emphasized the word, "magical."
Thea looked worriedly over at Fanboy as he choked on his drink. He waved away her concern and recovered quickly, laughter bubbling from his lips. When she was sure that the other man was okay, she turned back to Payback.
The other mustached man simply shrugged and said, "Now you do."
She liked Payback and Fanboy. She liked that they were easygoing and fun. She liked that they made Bradley laugh and that they had welcomed him so quickly and completely. She even liked that, despite Fanboy letting it slip that their names are Mickey and Rueben, they insisted that she use their callsigns.
Fanboy was sweet and funny and smiled easily. He was also completely oblivious to the attention he was receiving from their waitress, much to the amusement of Bradley and Payback.
Payback reminded her a lot of Logan. He was sarcastic and joked with her with unspoken mirth dancing in his brown eyes.
After being told that he expected nothing short of magical from her next performance, she had signed herself up to sing Rhiannon. She had always loved that song and could remember dancing around the house with her mom and Charlie as it played softly on the radio. It was the first song she learned on her guitar and the first song she performed at one of her parent's performance circles. She had to admit she felt pretty damn magical when she sang it.
When she had returned to the table, she was met with praise from Bradley and Fanboy. Payback had just said, "That was all right," as his lips twitched from the effort it took him not to smile.
The group had spent the night talking and laughing and singing. She had even pulled Bradley on stage to sing Tramp with her. As they all rose from their seats, disappointment filled her. She was sad to see their night end.
Stepping out onto the street, she tucked herself against Brad's side. Turning her head toward their friends, she said, "I meant it, guys." She waited until she had both Fanboy's and Payback's attention. "You're welcome to come over for Christmas."
Earlier in the night, when her parent's impending visit was mentioned, both men had expressed how much it would mean to be with their own families for the holidays. She had run the idea by Brad when they had a moment alone and they agreed that since her parents would be leaving before the actual Christmas holiday there was no reason that the two lonely soldiers shouldn't join them for dinner and board games.
Fanboy smiled brightly. "Oh, I'm there!"
"I'm not sure it's just the singing that makes you magical, Thea." Payback smirked down at her and laughed when Brad muttered a quiet, "For fuck's sake."
Her, Payback, and Fanboy laughed as Brad pulled her away from them with a firm, "Night, guys!"
"So," she began when they had turned the corner and could no longer hear Fanboy's loud laughter. "I'm magical, huh?"
Arm still wrapped tightly around her shoulders, he groaned and let his head fall back. "I didn't say all that, you know."
"All what," she asked playfully. She laughed as he gave her a pointed look. "Oh! The clouds and the sun and the world?"
"Right."
"Of course not." She peeked at him from the corner of her eye and, with a smirk planted firmly on her lips, said, "But you did say I was magical."
He could have argued that he had used that word to describe her singing, not her. He could have denied it despite them both knowing he had said it. Instead, he pulled her closer and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Right."
Author's Note: So there it is - Brad and Thea have officially met and befriended two familiar faces :)
I want to give a big shout-out to everyone that has been reading, following, and commenting on this story. You know who you are! Without you guys, I may not have found my way back to Brad and Thea.