Philadelphia Gold - A BradGa AU

Are You Happy In This Modern World

Stefanis POV

I noticed Bradley still asleep next to me as the morning sun shone through our window, not helping the massive hangover that was coming on as my head started to thump, my stomach doing backflips as I let out a loud groan when I pulled myself out of bed. 

I made a beeline for the toilet right away, knowing I would spend at least half my day in there today, When it came to hangovers, I got them real bad.

When I got the opportunity, I ordered some breakfast up to the room for me and Bradley, knowing he probably wasnt too far off waking up, which he wasnt.

Bradley didnt seem too bad after the night we had, getting out of bed like it was just a normal day, Fuck, I wish I was like that, I remember back in college if I went to a party during the week, I couldnt show up to classes at all the next day, which meant I could only party on weekends and that kind of killed part of the college experience.

Bradley rubbed his eyes a little, "Fuck, Did not sleep well" He groaned as he took a seat on the end of the bed. "My shoulder was killing me all night"

"Shit, Thats not good" I sat down next to him, before starting to feel sick again.

"How's your head" Bradley asked me, "You had a pretty big night"

"I feel so horrendous right now" I ran off to the bathroom again as I heard a knock on the door.

"I'll grab that"

Bradley walked over to the door, "When the fuck did we get a buffet" He yelled out to me, making me emerge from the bathroom again, 

"Wow, You guys were quick" I smiled at the two waiters who wheeled out food in, Plates and plates of really nice looking food lined the trolley, There were things like pancakes, waffles, bacon and eggs, but then there were also some things like croque monsieur, smoked salmon and ricotta pancakes and then a wagyu steak.

"Who the fuck eats steak for breakfast" I started laughing as Bradley dug into the food.

"Hey, When I was a kid, my nonna made the best cheesesteaks for breakfast" Bradley joined in on the laughter, "I still sometimes cook up a steak every now and then to start off my day"

"You are the most Philly guy I've ever met" I nearly spat out my waffles thinking about Bradley as a kid eating a cheesesteak for breakfast. "We're your family rich, you know, being able to eat steak for breakfast"

"Nah, We were like average, I guess" Bradley grabbed a piece of the steak, "Mom's side of the family owned a hoagie house,  Dad, he was unemployed, but ex-military So yeah, about average"

"Oh....okay"

"I dunno....Fuck, What about your family" Bradley smiled at me, 

"Both Mom and Dad were entrepreneurs, Owned this big company that I was supposed to take over, but then I went and became a doctor" I paused for a second "Kind of pissed them off at first but they realized they had another daughter they could give the business to and came around to the idea"

"Shit.....Thats....."

"Not what you were expecting" I smiled at Bradley, whos eyes were still widened a little.

"I'm just saying, Why would you move to Philly, Like its great that you did because its the best fucking city, but it kind of is the place you go if you cannot afford New York" Bradley told me as he dug into the waffles

"Because 2008 happened"

"Ohhhhhh" Bradley nodded, understanding what I was hinting at

"Its nothing, We're really going great now, but we lost a lot of money then and couldnt afford our place anymore, and Dad wanted a fresh start too" I shrugged my shoulders, "The fact I was 9 and knew all about it though"

"I'm so sorry Stef" Bradley said "I remember 2008 as well, Pretty shit year" 

"How come you found it shit" I asked him, trying to deflect from my family "Its okay if you dont want to tell me"

"Well......Dad died, We nearly lost the hoagie house, so yeah"

"I'm so sorry" I reached over and gave him a hug, wanting to cry myself thinking about that, 

"I remember it so clearly, It was the day after I turned 13, I had gone out with a bunch of friends to the football and when I got home, I found him dead on the couch, Undiagnosed liver failure along with alcohol poisoning." Bradley started to tear up a little, "I'm sorry I said this, Its....I've never told anyone and I got comfortable an-"

"Its okay" I didnt want to let Bradley go now, Turns out that under that cocky, arrogant, funny persona he put on for the camera, there was so much more to him.

"Its so easy to talk about the good things, Super Bowl wins, shit like that, I dunno, but when it comes to the bad stuff...its just" 

"I get it, I love talking about the fact I graduated medical school, that I work for the Eagles now, Its so easy" I couldnt help but give Bradley a little smile, He slightly managed one back.

I got up not long after that, My hangover starting to ease after some Tylenol and I could notice Bradleys phone going off, Messages from Nick Sirianni and Kellen Moore, saying the post-game meeting was today, so I decided to remind Bradley about that, since they are pretty important.

"Oh shit, We're still in Baltimore" Bradley hung his head back, "Its like a two hour drive home"

"The meetings at 1, so we have ages" 

"Not really, Its already 10:30" Bradley said, which made me take a look at his phone again, Shit, It was that late already, I had gotten so lost in talking to Bradley, 

He felt like one of the only guys I could talk to, Have a proper conversation with, I remember dating a guy a few months back, who was 29, like Bradley, and he was the most immature little shit, Bradley on the other hand, To the public he was an arrogant NFL star who had a serious reputation as a party boy, but once you got to know him on a deeper level, he was different.

I couldnt believe that the same man who had become known for shotgunning beers after scoring touchdowns was sitting next to me, having an deep, honest conversation, and I really liked that.

*****

Bradleys POV

I get honest and deep with people when I genuinely like them, and can trust them, I wouldnt go telling Saquon or A.J all this, as much as they are my best friends, but Stefani, I feel like I can, I feel comfortable around her.

We didnt bring much to the hotel so we just went straight out to my car, driving back to Philly as we pumped the music, talking about everything from movies we liked, which we had pretty different taste, but I didnt mind at all, to next weeks game.

We got back to the Linc with ten minutes to spare, rushing in and taking a seat up near the back, next to Saquon, who couldnt help but smirk at us. "How are the lovebirds doing" 

"Fuck off" 

*****

"Alright....So, As we know, Great win yesterday, Baltimore are definitely one of the better teams up there and we did great, but it did sadly come at a cost though" Nick Sirianni started to talk, "We have lost Bradley for the rest of the regular season, which means we will be relying on Kenny at QB instead"

Everyone started groaning, which made Kenny look up at as, mouthing something that I couldnt understand, "So, Saquon, You are probably about to start running the ball a whole lot more, But we can not be having you get hurt too" Nick added.

I knew I would be back for playoffs, It was my non-throwing shoulder that I hurt and it was only dislocated, It was like a four week injury and we were 10-2 already, If we lost the next five games, we would still make playoffs.

"You got this, We'll be fine" I mouthed to Saquon, who gave me a thumbs up as Nick started to go over some of the game tape.

Stefani and I watched it together, She even rested her head on my shoulder at one point, until Saquon caught us and we got snapped back to reality.

Whoops :(