Getting to Know You (HBO War: Generation Kill, Nate, Brad)

[lillian]

Post-canon, pre-Brad/Nate -- an expansion of a drabble I wrote a bit ago. The Ray monologue is real deleted dialogue from the show! 

for @solitaire-au 

After OIF, Brad goes on exchange with the Royal Marines. When he gets unexpected leave Stateside, he meets up with his former LT and now... friend?

Nate's voice - the actor does have kind of a naturally hoarse speaking voice, but when he sings? I'm just in love with his voice and him in general.

__

It was fine, he’d told his mother for the hundredth time. The leave was short notice, and he’d be able to come home again for Hanukkah before he deployed with the Brits. It had felt strange, begging his parents to keep their hotel reservation in Tahiti, but nothing in California really felt like home anymore.

“Do you have someone you can stay with?” His mother had asked, familiar worry coloring her voice. 

“Yes, I have a friend on the east coast I’d like to visit.”

Always the same reaction when he mentioned that he’d become more than acquaintances with a fellow human being. It was a bit much, really. 

“...A friend? Oh, good, Bradley. That will be good for you.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind, in a sweltering Humvee in the desert, Ray’s eager, needling monologuing picked back up:

“What about you Brad? Some little pointy-headed Stewie baby raking the shag carpet in your fucking family’s living room… “

“Stop it, Ray.”

“Father! Mother! Where is my carpet rake? I’m a young Bradley Colbert, a lonely freak with no friends, whose sole pleasure is raking the shag carpet in my mother and father’s house–”

“Ray, that is not—”

“Brad, Brad, listen – you used to rake the shag carpet in your parents’ house! You used to rake it so that all the fibers would go in the same direction. That is total type-A OCD behavior! It’s fucking pathetic…”

Yes. Safe to say that everyone would be pleased to hear that he was voluntarily spending his free time in the company of another person. A friend.

___

Nate was waiting for him at the gate in Boston, slightly overdressed for the mild spring weather in a soft-looking sweater and jacket. The end of a striped scarf hung out of one of the pockets. 

Nate gave him an awkward little “here!” wave, as if Brad hadn’t clocked him immediately. Brad faltered as he approached. He knew it was customary to hug someone you hadn’t seen in a long time, especially if you had looked forward to seeing them again, but he felt conspicuous in his military fatigues.

Nate saved him. 

“I’d hug you, but I have a bit of a cold,” he said with a small, apologetic smile. 

“In that case, I’ll go back to England,” Brad replied dryly. 

Nate held out a pink and orange paper cup. “Coffee?”

Brad smiled widely, taking it. “You have no idea how sick of tea I am.”

—

As soon as they stepped outside, Nate visibly shivered and reached for the scarf in his pocket, wrapping it securely around his neck. Brad looked up to the pale blue spring sky and felt the warmth of the sun melt into his skin. Nate sneezed. 

“ett’chhnnx–shoo!” 

Photic, Brad remembered. 

“hup’chnnxx– sheh! Oh, excuse me.”

And definitely sick. 

__

“So,” Nate said brightly, dodging a manic sedan as it veered into his lane, setting off a string of loud honking from the surrounding vehicles. Nate leaned on his own horn in response.

“Masshole,” Brad muttered. 

Nate smiled and shook his head. 

“How many speeding tickets are you up to now, Brad?”

“On a bike it’s different. It’s criminal to hold such a machine to the same standards as these lumbering quadrupeds.” 

Nate laughed; a hoarse, pleasant sound. Brad thought back to Iraq, when the most he could get out of Nate on a good day was a wry snort. 

“het’nnxxgt –choo!” Nate held a knuckle to the underside of his nose, looking like he was trying to hold back a second. Brad politely turned his head to stare out his window and Nate finally gave in. “kshhht-choo!” He cleared his throat, ominously raspy. “Excuse me… So, what do you want to see while you’re in Boston?”

“Are you offering me a tour?” 

__
 

Nate had listed off a variety of interesting things to do around Boston, but as soon as he’d mentioned “amphibious vehicles,” he knew he had Brad’s attention. 

After stopping by his apartment to drop off luggage and grab a mid-afternoon snack, Nate and Brad had found a suitable place along the Charles River to watch the duck boats plunge into the water from the park path, their cargo of tourists whooping and cheering. Brad had declined a ride, but was watching avidly from across the water. 

A breeze picked up off the river and Nate shivered, burrowing down into his scarf and wishing he’d brought a hat.  

“Cold?”

Brad’s eyes were steel gray in the early evening light. 

Nate shrugged, but had to sniffle against an increasingly runny nose. He slipped a cold hand into his pocket, searching for the tissues he’d stowed there earlier. 

“That’s not an answer,” Brad said, turning to face him. It was surprisingly forward, and Nate was trying to think of a way to respond when the dull, constant tickle lodged deep in his nose sparked. Luckily, he already had the tissues in his hand, so he was able to fold one over his nose with relative grace as his breath hitched. 

“hep’mmxxshh!” His breath kept hitching, eyes squeezing shut. “h’mgxt-choo!” He had to grab another tissue to help with the mess. He was aware of Brad’s eyes on him as he cleaned up and blew his nose. 

“Let’s get you home,” Brad said, once Nate was a little more put together. 

“ht’xxsheww!” Nate blushed, fumbling for more tissues. “Sorry, it’s the wind…”

“Yeah, and that “bit of a cold” you have.” Brad tugged on his jacket sleeve. “Come on. I’d feel bad if you came down with pneumonia just so I could watch the duck boats.”

Nate smiled, allowing himself to be led along back to his apartment. Brad had apparently already become familiar with the route. 

“It was rewarding to watch you enjoy them,” Nate said, doing his best to tamp down his smile and match Brad’s dry humor. 

__
 

The next morning, Brad woke up early. He was enjoying the solitude with a cup of coffee when he heard harsh coughing from the hall. 

Nate waved a hand in greeting as he came in, still coughing into the crook of his arm.

“That sounds healthy.” 

“It’ll–” he stopped, grimacing. His voice scraped by his vocal chords, barely making a sound. He rubbed his throat. 

“Ow,” Brad said sympathetically. Nate did get hoarse easily. Brad remembered his scratchy voice in team meetings on cold, dusty mornings — clearing his throat and apologizing until he pushed through or someone took over for him. How he’d lose his voice completely for a bit if he had to raise his voice at them, or if he was upset.

Brad hadn’t really noticed until he heard him sing — quietly, to himself, some old grandpa song as he stood keeping watch on the berm one night. His voice was a clear tenor; strong and suspiciously well-trained. It was like when he was calm, happy, even, his voice was too. 

But now he was just sick. 

Nate coughed again voicelessly, and sat down, hard on the couch across from Brad. 

“Sorry, I don’t think I’m up for much today,” he rasped.

“Figured.” Brad got up and went over to the television cabinet.

“What–” 

“You probably shouldn’t try to talk anymore,” Brad said, head inside the cabinet. He sat back, frowning. “Your taste in movies sucks. Let’s rent something.”

Nate cracked a small smile.

__

That evening:

“ngt!”

“God bless you,” Nate said, threadbare and hoarse.

“Don’t waste your voice.” Brad stared boredly at the TV, head propped up on a pillow, sock feet dangerously close to being in Nate’s lap. Nate watched as he pinched his nose again and jerked forward with a barely-audible “ggt!”

“Bless you again.” 

Brad rolled his eyes.

“You don’t have to be rude.” Nate curled tighter, directing his attention to the TV.

“hup’gxxt!” Brad wiped his nose on the back of his wrist and sniffled. The recovery was slower than usual as he blinked and cleared his throat.

“That actually almost sounded human,” Nate said. He reached into the space between his shins and Brad’s feet, pulling the blanket over himself. 

Brad nudged him with a toe. 

“Chills?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been taking the blanket on and off.” 

Nate shrugged and looked away. 

“I hope this is just a cold you’re in the process of giving me, and not the flu.” Brad sighed and leaned forward, hand extended, palm out. 

Nate held up a hand as he struggled to keep his eyes from slipping closed. “huh!”

Brad sat back and waited, familiar with this by now. 

“huh-ESH! hhh…etch’ngxt—choo!” 

“Sounded almost human,” Brad said dryly. 

“T-trying not to—“ 

“Just let it happen.” Brad pulled a few tissues from the box on the table and handed them over. 

“etchmmpf! heh-eh-EH! et'xx-chhshh!” Nate blew his nose, muffling one final “ett’chhmpf!” 

“Sorry,” he croaked. “Tryi’g to keep this to byself.”

“That,” Brad sighed, leaning in to press his palm to Nate’s forehead, “is a lost cause, sir.” He made a tutting sound. “Where do you keep your Tylenol?”

_FIN_

Edited April 14 by lillian

[solitaire-au]

That was so good! 🥰

I know Ray and Brad are supposed to insult each other as part of their banter, but that bit about Brad being friendless was absolutely brutal! And I imagine at least partly true. Brad gives off very strong lone wolf vibes, but not in the way officers have to keep their men at arm’s length.
 

As an NCO I guess he’s still got to be mindful of the differences in rank, but he’s not just called Iceman because he’s cool under pressure. The show gives the impression that his men try hard to include him and be friendly (even if it’s in an insulting way) but he keeps his walls up almost all the time.

The thing is, I think only part of it comes from being adopted. I think the other part is the influence of his parents, especially his mother. From what little you’ve described, even when she praises him, it’s in a backhanded where she’s undermining him and his confidence. Being adopted and having an adopted mother who doesn’t believe in him is a terrible combination to have.
 

I’m not sure, but one fan video edit I saw (I think it was a Brad/Nate one) implies that some of his men think he’s gay when he first gets deployed and a few believe that’s why he’s so quiet, standoffish and not very vocal about women: because he’s trying to hide his attraction to men. And he doesn’t deny it. Whereas they claim Rudy is gay, but he’s clearly confident in his masculinity and sexuality. And being ~20 years ago, it was the “don’t ask, don’t tell” era. So if Brad was gay, he’d be keeping his mouth shut.

Anyway, the idea of Brad coming to stay with Nate, who has a cold is fantastic. Brad catching his cold, and trying to keep a lid on it, so he can take care of Nate, is even better! 💗

Like Shakespeare said: “how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…” 😍

[lillian]

17 hours ago, solitaire-au said:

I know Ray and Brad are supposed to insult each other as part of their banter, but that bit about Brad being friendless was absolutely brutal! And I imagine at least partly true. Brad gives off very strong lone wolf vibes, but not in the way officers have to keep their men at arm’s length.

To be fair, the previous part of that dialogue was Brad insisting that Ray hadn't lost his virginity until after Afghanistan (the year before) because he was on the debate team in high school and therefore lame. A lot of stuff Ray says is a bit more off-color than what I feel comfortable writing (very 2003 humor) so it does end up with Brad looking like a major asshole when Ray's been baiting/annoying him until he snaps. 

17 hours ago, solitaire-au said:

As an NCO I guess he’s still got to be mindful of the differences in rank, but he’s not just called Iceman because he’s cool under pressure. The show gives the impression that his men try hard to include him and be friendly (even if it’s in an insulting way) but he keeps his walls up almost all the time.

The thing is, I think only part of it comes from being adopted. I think the other part is the influence of his parents, especially his mother. From what little you’ve described, even when she praises him, it’s in a backhanded where she’s undermining him and his confidence. Being adopted and having an adopted mother who doesn’t believe in him is a terrible combination to have.

You're so perceptive and good with details! Brad is definitely a lone wolf, and he's surprisingly delicate emotionally. His girlfriend, who he'd been with since junior high, left him for his best friend since junior high, and poor Brad is still their friend for some reason. As Brad's telling this to the reporter, Ray's actually silent for once and looking at Brad with such tenderness. Brad's cool and frosty and great at war, but on varying levels the guys know that he's a big dork who needs them. Even if things are strained with his family and his personal life, he's got his guys ❤️

17 hours ago, solitaire-au said:

And being ~20 years ago, it was the “don’t ask, don’t tell” era. So if Brad was gay, he’d be keeping his mouth shut.

 

Hence the no-hugging 😉 

Who knows what will happen when Nate gets to feeling better?

I'm so so glad you liked it! As soon as you said "getting closer in a more hospitable environment" my brain went into overdrive.

ETA: I'm so glad my writing is introducing people to this niche fandom that I love so much!  There are a few shows that I got into after reading stories on here, and some where I only read the content on the forum and enjoy the show through that! I'm happy that I can be that for others!

Edited April 15 by lillian