Cooper's Children's Home // BradGa

F I V E

"I'm sorry." Stefani suddenly said, making Bradley stop folding the laundry. He turned his head to look at her and rose an eyebrow. "You trusted me with the kids and I completely failed. Anna ran away, Lukas had to go to the hospital and Bree got sick from eating too much because I couldn't even feed her properly!" She rambled on, frustratedly running a hand through her hair, the feeling of panic rising inside of her body again.

Bradley chuckled, making her glare at him.

"Do you think this is funny?" She asked, tears welling up in her eyes again.

Bradley smiled and stepped closer to her, placing his thumb under her left eye right in time to catch a tear that was falling. "You did a way better job with these kids than I did when I first started to work with them." He smiled, placing his finger under her chin to make her look up at him. Just his touch and calm voice managed to calm her down immensely. "It was when I was 18. My mom had left for some business meetings and I was alone with some of the kids. I forgot two at the kindergarten, lost one at the supermarket and when I finally got home again the kitchen was on fire. Sounds like a movie, but I promise you it didn't feel like one. My mom made me pay for the new kitchen by working at a diner and it took me two years to pay her back." He finished his story, making her giggle.

"I'm sorry for laughing. I didn't do the best job today myself. It's a wonder the house isn't on fire." She sighed, giving him a sad half smile.

"We're all not perfect, but Anna is unharmed, Bree is fast asleep in her bed and Lukas loves you. If none of those kids are mad at you then you shouldn't be so mad at yourself either." He said, making her smile again.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked, carefully.

Bradley shook his head and grinned at her. "Why do you care about my opinion, superstar?" He teased.

Stefani rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I don't." She said, immediately putting up her guard again. She had a hard time showing emotions and today was a day she'd definitely like to forget.

"I'm not mad at you, Stefani. I'm glad you're okay." He said, making her blush. She kept an unfazed look on her face, let out a huff and then walked out of the room. Bradley chuckled at her behavior and continued with the laundry.

••••

"Stefi?" Lukas asked, tugging on her shirt. She'd just gotten home from the studio and was tired as hell.

She looked down at the toddler. "Yes?"

"I can't sleep."

She looked at her watch and realized that it was already past ten in the evening. "Where's Bradley? Why aren't you in bed yet?" She asked him, picking him up into her arms and walking into the living room.

She giggled when she found Bradley snoring on the couch, Bree on his lap. Her head was on his chest and one of her thumbs was inside of her mouth while she was also fast asleep. Stefani gently nudged his leg with her foot to wake him up.

Bradley startled awake almost immediately, rubbing his eyes and then looking up at Stefani and Lukas. "Oh, hey. I'm sorry." He mumbled, caressing Bree's back when she moved on top of him. "I must've fallen asleep." He whispered.

Stefani smiled and pushed him back when he tried to get up. "Can you go upstairs and wait in bed for me? I'll be right there." She said to Lukas who smiled and nodded, running to his room when she let him down. "I'll put her to bed. You go and get some sleep yourself." She offered, taking the tired girl from him.

"Are you sure? Aren't you tired as well?" He asked, getting up.

She shrugged. "I'm fine. Go."

Bradley smiled and nodded, walking up to his room.

••••

"...And then the little mouse found her parents and the family was reunited." Stefani finished the story, closing the book. She smiled at Lukas who was finally asleep and turned on his nightlight before leaving the room, shutting the door behind herself.

The truth was that she'd had a crap day at work. Bobby and her got into a fight over the album, her vocals just weren't there and she was too tired to write any lyrics. She also didn't finish the lyrics she'd promised to have done because of the incident with Lukas and desperately needed a break.
When Bobby told her that she'd have to stay at Cooper's Children's Home, she didn't think he'd have her work on the album at the same time, but she was still Lady Gaga after all. She couldn't let her fans or team down. Everyone's lives depended on her success and she was the invincible superstar who couldn't just take a day off. So she overworked herself, tried to make it right for everyone around her but in the meantime she lost herself.

Bradley was leant against the wall next to the toddlers' room and Stefani let out a gasp, holding a hand to her chest when she spotted him in the dark. "Damn, you scared the shit out of me." She whispered. "Why aren't you asleep? I told you I'd handle it." She asked, walking towards her own bedroom.

Bradley followed her and shut the door behind them, quickly turning back towards her. He grabbed her waist, pulling her towards his body and his lips were on hers in a second. Stefani let out a strangled squeal, but relaxed a moment after. What the fuck was happening?

Her hands sneaked up towards his neck and she held onto him, melting into the soft kiss. His hands roamed her back and eventually reached her ass, giving it a gentle squeeze.

When they pulled away breathlessly Stefani didn't dare to move and just left her hands around his neck, his own hands stayed around her waist and they just looked at each other, trying to process what just happened. "Not that that wasn't nice or anything, but what the fuck?" She said.

Bradley let go of her and scratched the back of his neck, shooting her a boyish look. He had a half grin on his lips and looked anywhere but at her. "I'm sorry, I should've asked or I don't know..." he mumbled.

Stefani blushed. "No, it's okay. It was just unexpected, I guess." She said, both of them clearly still trying to figure out what happened.

"Yeah." He paused. "Anyway, good night." He said before he rushed out of her room again, leaving her behind.

She groaned and barely made it into bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow her eyes closed and she smiled a little, touching her lips with her fingers. The kiss came as a surprise but she really enjoyed it. Bradley and her definitely had some kinds of feelings for each other, but since neither of them were any good with said feelings so they couldn't really express them yet.

Her stomach growled, ripping her out of her reminiscing thoughts and reminding her of the fact that she'd skipped lunch and dinner but she didn't have the energy to get up for any food anymore, so she closed her eyes and fell asleep in her jeans and with her jacket still on, confused but also excited.