imagine being val kilmer and you’re the youngest person to ever be accepted into the juilliard acting school and your first big role after graduating is top gun 1986 and you make these choices consciously and on purpose and with a lot of forethought and planning
Relationships: Tom “Iceman” Kazansky/Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Sarah Kazansky & Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky & Original Female Character(s), Tom “Iceman” Kazansky & Ron “Slider” Kerner, Bernie “Hondo” Coleman/Original Female Character(s), Bernie “Hondo” Coleman & Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Mike “Viper” Metcalf & Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw & Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw/Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw & Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky & Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, Solomon “Warlock” Bates & Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Solomon “Warlock” Bates & Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Penny Benjamin & Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Solomon “Warlock” Bates/Marcus “Sundown” Williams
Characters: Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Sarah Kazansky, Ron “Slider” Kerner, Original Characters, Bernie “Hondo” Coleman, Solomon “Warlock” Bates, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, Mike “Viper” Metcalf, Marcus “Sundown” Williams, Penny Benjamin, Amelia Benjamin
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Iceman Kazansky Lives, Sarah Kazansky is Ice’s Sister, Established Relationship, Developing Relationship, Judaism, Jewish Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, (i LOVE that this is a tag now), Fluff and Angst, Domestic Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Minor Character Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Male-Female Friendship, Male Friendship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, American Sign Language, Happy Ending
Series: Part 3 of i’m steppin’ to you toe-to-toe
Summary:
Funny how easy it was to slip back into this feeling. Like riding a bike, or flying. Some things you never forgot.
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Or: Iceman and Maverick pick up where they left off.
I’ve always sort of head-canoned Ice as a bit of a book worm, so when Bradley starts spending more and more time with Mav and him that’s something that he wanted to share with him.
And then it turns out that Pete never really got the chance to be/read those classic kids books when he was little and being shuffled about foster homes - so Ice and Bradely want to include him in the tradition as well, even if he does tend to dose off more often than not.
His thing turns more into Bradely filling him in on the bits of the chapter that he missed over breakfast the next day, and them discussing/theorising what it all means and what they think might happen while Ice just watches on, fond AF.
top gun is great because tony scott was like “i want to make a movie about sunsets” and the us navy was like “No you’re gonna make recruitment propanganda for the navy” and val kilmer was like “the studio has tricked me, juilliard trained val kilmer, into being here, so i’m going to portray a closeted homosexual” and tom cruise was like “i’m in a ray bans commercial!”