[voice test]

[theprettymarine]

Billy didn't know how to name the feeling he had when Frank married Maria. He was happy for his friend, for both of them. He did everything a best man was supposed to do, and then some, because he would be damned if Frank didn't have a decent wedding, even if it was a rush job. Because Maria was pregnant. But Frank was happy and that was what mattered.

But something did shift in him as he watched his friend take his vows. No one sticks around. Maybe that wasn't totally fair - Frank was his brother, they were Marines, and they would share things that no one else did, and that was okay. He didn't need anything else from Frank. He didn't deserve anything else.

They had some leave before their first deployment, which was how Frank managed to get married at all. And after Frank resurfaced from his brief honeymoon, Billy was happy to meet him for drinks.

Comments

[theprettymarine]

He turned his head to meet the kiss. "Both, obviously. Breakfast meat, dude."

Billy wasn't generally picky about his food, which was partially why he'd survived basic as well as he did. That was also why he wasn't inclined to pass up good food when it was on offer. He bumped his hip against Frank's, but for the most part tried not to distract him.

"Do you-- what time do you have to head out?"

[onebatch_twobatch]

Frank shrugged one shoulder, sliding soft srambled eggs onto a plate and then throwing rashes of bacon onto the same pan. He liked his crispy, but he’d glance Billy’s way before it got too far gone.

“I think Maria probably wants me out of her hair, honestly. She needs to nest.” He screwed up his face a little. “I’m here as long as you want me here, man.”

[theprettymarine]

He huffed a laugh and looked down at his coffee. Some desperate voice inside him wanted to beg. Stay, just stay. Another part of him said to be grateful for whatever he could get. Frank was married, he had a kid on the way. This would all end eventually. He'd want to focus on his life, his family.

"You're burning that bacon, man." He grinned though, because ribbing Frank was easy. "You're welcome to hide out here whenever you need to. But uh, I think she's gonna want you back before we get deployed."

[onebatch_twobatch]

“I am not burning it, it’s hardly cooked,” Frank complained. He took a couple slices off and put them on the plate as well so Billy could have his limp bacon.

He smiled and nodded. He knew Maria would want him around. She’d want Billy around, too. But Frank didn’t know how to invite his—boyfriend? Lover? Brother—to hang out with him and his wife.

He threw a couple links of sausage on the pan to start cooking. “Do you like your sausage undercooked too?”

[theprettymarine]

"Fuck you and your burnt bacon," he said as he picked up a piece from his plate. He ate it and hummed his satisfaction. "Cook the sausage how you want, I'll trust you with that."

Billy pushed away from the counter to refill his mug. "I feel like I should be doing more but you got this shit handled."

[onebatch_twobatch]

“I said I’d make breakfast,” Frank pointed out. He sipped his coffee, scrunching his face a little. He was still getting used to coffee in general, let alone black coffee, but he thought this was pretty okay. At least he knew how to make it.

“You can pay me back later,” he said, and swatted Billy’s ass.

[theprettymarine]

Billy grinned over at Frank, sly and warm. "I was gonna pay you up front, but you had to go and put pants on."

He wet his lips and took a sip of coffee as he returned to counter next to Frank as the sausage cooked. God, he looked good. He reached over and brushed his thumb along Frank's hip, just over his jeans and beneath his shirt.

[onebatch_twobatch]

Frank finished up the meat and plated everything and turned off the stove, and lingered right there, next to Billy. The domesticity felt right, to just be here in Billy's space and not feel rushed. To feel like he fit here.

"We never would have had food if you'd done a down payment, baby," Frank teased. "Just would have stayed in bed and wasted away. And that would have been a fuckin' shame."