Curate, connect, and discover
Sitting in front of a cake with 40 birthday candles on it, it's probably one of the weirdest experiences of Bradley's life. Not because he didn't think he was going to get forty, but because there were so many people around him singing and hugging him, passing him presents and taking photos of the event that it baffled him a little. Uncle Tom and Uncle Pete are there too, and that's another reason why his eyes are a little wet; he spent so much time being angry with them, and now they're here, on the other side of the table, drinking beers and laughing with the rest of the squad. At forty, Uncle Tom had been raising Bradley since 1988. He was married to Mav, and their little family was all they had to celebrate, and most of the men he called, calls, uncle were around the world. They are still around the world, but their presents and their birthday videos are there, and they will be around, in person, at least once a week. They, his uncles and his squadron, are his family now, and they're enough to not fit on his two hands when he counts them all. He makes Bradley's heart beat a little faster, and all he feels is happiness.
When he blows the candles, he wishes for another thousand birthdays like this.
(He falls asleep, drunk and exhausted, hugging Jake in the middle of the other twelve people, and Logan is hugging him. He knows his head and back won't thank him in the morning, but he's safe, and the blankets around him make it all warm and cozy. Bradley couldn't ask for a better birthday.)