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callsignspitfire · 7 months

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Prologue: Welcome to Miramar

This is the prologue to my new TGM collab series with my amazing friend @seresinned. Here you can follow the adventures of best friend Julia and Joey on their adventures at Top Gun and navigating their love lives with a certain group of aviators.

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March 13th 2021. Miramar Naval Air Station, San Diego

The room was stifling, full of animated characters, shouting over each other as the ceiling fan whirled above their heads, despite the rain pouring outside. The clock struck the hour and Julia sighed, she felt her heart sink as the instructor marched into the room, a clipboard under his arm as he introduced himself. He took a quick register, stopping abruptly as he reached Julia’s desk.

“Where’s your partner? Joey Ambrose?” The instructor glared down at her and Julia glared back at him.

“Do I look like I keep tabs on him? He’s a grown-ass man.” The instructor rolled his eyes and scrolled something on his piece of paper before moving on. Julia looked at her watch again.

“You better have a hell of a good excuse when I find you, Joey.”

“Hey, is this seat taken?” Julia looked up to address the smiling man looking down at her.

“Apparently not. My pilot is a no-show,” Julia gestured to the seat, removing her wet coat that had been dripping continuously on the tiled floor, and the man sat down.

“Well it must be your lucky day because I happen to be a pilot,” he smiled smugly, his moustache twitching but Julia just rolled her eyes.

“No shit. We’re at a naval aviation base for crying out loud.”

It turns out that Bradley was a pretty funny guy and despite Julia’s attitude the pair soon got talking and by the end of the icebreaker meeting day they were laughing like old friends.

“You know you’re not so bad Bradshaw. I feel like Joey would like you,” Julia remarked, watching Bradley's face creased with confusion.

“Who’s Joey?” Of course, she hadn’t introduced her loveable, idiot pilot, despite having moaned about his tardiness.

“Oh, Joey’s my pilot. He’s a nice guy, if not a little chaotic and times. I feel like you’d get along well.”

“Really,” Bradley seemed amused, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah, I think you would. He’s very cool. He’s in a band you know.”

“Really? Anything I’d have heard of?”

Julia thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders, “Probably not. I think he has a demo CD somewhere. I can find it for you if you’d like.”

“Yeah, that would be great. Thanks.”

The conversation flowed effortlessly and soon the icebreaker afternoon came to an end. As soon as they were dismissed, Julia found herself hurrying out of the room. She was going to give Joey what for when she found him. Bradley was in hot pursuit.

“Hey Julia, wait up! How do you feel about hanging out tonight? There’s a bar by the beach, The Hard Deck, it’s a nice place. Maybe we could grab a drink.”

“You’re not trying to ask me on a date, are you? I’ve just got out of a relationship and…”

“Let me stop you there,” Bradley laughed and Julia found herself glaring at him once more.

“I’m not exactly into you if you catch my drift.”

Julia thought for a moment before the realisation dawned on her.

“Ohh. Well in that case sure, why not,” Julia slung her bag over her shoulder, following Bradley along the corridor. “Can I bring Joey my pilot along?”

“Sure, the more the merrier. I’m intrigued to meet this cool guitar player now.”

The pair reached the door out onto the tarmac and watched the rain pelt down. You could barely see three feet in front of you through the torrential downpour. Bradley pulled his umbrella out of his bag, opened it outside and allowed Julia the spot beside him.

“My Ma said to always be prepared,” Bradley chatted happily and Julia laughed.

“Isn’t that like the scout motto?”

“Ugh, probably,” Bradley shrugged, “Which way are you heading? I’ll come with you so you don’t get washed away.”

“Just to the post office on base. I need to post a letter to my mum.”

“Why don’t you just text her, or email her?”

Julia sighed, if she had a dollar for every time Joey had said the same thing to her she’d have retired by now. “I just think you get more out of a handwritten letter. There is so much more feeling to it, it’s personal.” Bradley shrugged, opening up the door so they could begin their journey towards the post office on the other side of the base.

You could barely hear yourself think above the sound of the rain pelting against the canvas above them. Julia huddled further into her coat. Considering it was supposed to be warm in Miramar the weather clearly said otherwise.

They were a few feet from the post office building when a figure came sprinting towards them, no cost on and his hair smeared against his head as the rain soaked him.

“Poor guy looks like a drowned rat,” Bradley laughed, a slight tone of pity running through his words. The poor man turned around, seemingly ready to defend his drowned rat image.

“Julia?”

“Oh, Joey! There you are! We were looking for you everywhere! Well, not everywhere. Here. We were waiting for you here. This is Bradley!” She spoke excitedly, pointing to the stranger. Joey seemed to look at her completely confused by the whole situation as the rain continued to soak him.

“This is Joey, the one I was telling you about earlier,” Julia continued, turning back to Bradley. “See, I told you he’d be late.” Julia watched as Bradley looked the man up and down and she already knew what he was thinking. Even she had to admit that Braldey was a good-looking guy and however subtly Joey was trying to be, she knew him too well.

Bradley seemed to be eyeing up Joey in return, tilting his head slightly as he stared at him. Julia felt Joey’s eyes boring into her as he gave her his classic what-the-fuck-is-this look, but she pretended not to notice, already having too much fun watching the interaction.

“Julia and I met this morning, in the icebreaker session..” Bradley began, smiling as if he knew something more, “Obviously, you were... Too busy… To turn up. So, we paired up for the session” He continued, still smiling at Joey.

Joey just shrugged nonchalantly, “Makes sense. Well, uh…nice to meet you... Bradley, was it?” Julia knew he was putting on the casual blasé air about him. Joey was extremely perceptive and would not have forgotten the name of the very attractive pilot in front of him.

“Yeah,” Bradley replied, seemingly unaware of Joey’s act, “and like everyone else, most people know me by my call sign, so Rooster’s fine too.” He stuck his hand forward into the rain to shake Joey's hand but Joey just continued to stare back at him absentmindedly.

“Like the bird?” Joey asked and Julia wanted to smack him at his lack of common sense. ‘Of course like the bird Joey, you dumbass’ was what she wanted to say but found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the interlocked hands. How long were they gonna keep this up, with the intense eye contact before one of them snapped.

“Mine’s Hurricane,” Joey blurted out and Julia once again found herself wanting to facepalm and Joey’s lack of social skills. Beside her, Bradley nodded, apparently mulling over how he was going to respond.

“Suits you” he declared simply, nodding once more and tucking his hand into his pocket. Julia could sense Joey’s urge to get as far away from the situation as possible and into the dry when Bradley spoke up again.

“Wait, so you’re Hurricane and Spitfire? Like the British warplanes?” He asked, grinning widely now.

Joey rolled his eyes and Julia instantly found herself regretting her decision to allow Bradley to walk her to the post office.

Bradley laughed again, softer this time, “No, don’t get me wrong, they’re good names. It’s pretty cool you’ve got matching ones since you’re partners in your squadron and all.”

Julia smiled, “Yup, that we are, and you’re right, they are cool, so whatever else you were about to say, don’t, we’ve definitely heard it at least three times before”. Why did everyone have to pick on their callsigns, especially a guy who named himself after a chicken?

Joey’s teeth were chattering wildly when he spoke up again, “Okay, as amazing as it is to meet you, as you so kindly pointed out earlier, uh, Rooster, I’m feeling very much like a drowned rat out here, so can we please go post that letter, Jules?”

Julia stepped forward quickly to Joey’s side, “Oh God, Joey. Sorry, yeah, come on. We’ll see you tonight at The Hard Deck, yeah?” She called over her shoulder to Bradley as she dragged Joey into the dimly lit post office entrance.

“Sure, see you there,” Bradley called back, giving a half-assed two-finger salute before taking himself and his umbrella back out into the rain.

Joey began to grumble about the cold and Julia finally felt herself tapping him around the back of the head, “Well, it’s definitely your fault for leaving without a jacket. Sounds like a problem actually. Maybe next time you could be more prepared.”

“I didn’t mean to sleep in,” Joey cried out exasperated and in desperate need of a warm shower and a hot beverage.

“Don’t worry about it. Just let me send this and we can get you home.”

19:00. March 13th 2021, The Hard Deck, Miramar

Joey and Julia were tucked away at one of the corner tables of The Hard Deck, a pack of cards lay strewn out across the table between them, but it was bottles of beer they held in their hands.

“You’re a lot drier than the last time I saw you,” a familiar voice called from a few feet away.

Julia turned away from Joey to see Bradley standing in front of their table.

“Well, I figured it was best I prove I can do better than the whole drowned rat look, y’know?” Joey chuckled, giving Bradley a quick grin.

“I can see. Seat taken?” Bradley asked, nodding to the empty third chair.

“Nope! Feel free to join us!” Julia grinned, tidying up the cards that had spread across the table and stashing them neatly back into their box.

“Cards, huh? What about pool? You guys any good?” Bradley questioned, eyes twinkling ever so slightly.

Julia was about to speak up when Joey interrupted, “Jules will swindle every man in this bar, Dude, I wouldn’t even try it.” He laughed and despite Julia wanting to explain herself she knew she could win a lot of money if she wanted to tonight. All those cocky aviators who didn’t think a woman could beat them.

“What about you? Wouldn’t wanna risk my reputation going up against Julia here, so it looks like you’re my only hope for a good time tonight,” Bradley replied, and Julia had to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape her at the flirty comment. If Joey couldn’t see the way Bradley was looking at him then he really must be oblivious. Bradley hadn’t even been here five minutes and he was already trying to shoot his shot. Joey sat back in his chair, his forehead creased as he thought for a moment. Julia already knew he wasn’t about to turn down this opportunity, despite his awkwardness sometimes Joey could flirty his way into and out of many situations, sometimes without realising, so who knows what he was going to say next.

“I’m pretty decent, if I say so myself, wanna find out?” Joey smirked, cocking his eyebrow Bradley just laughed in amusement.

“Game on.”

Julia laughed as she watched Joey and Bradley head over to the pool table. She didn’t notice the tall brunette man until he took the seat opposite her, swigging from his beer bottle and smiled at her.

“Hello?” Julia spoke cautiously, eyeing up the handsome stranger. His chiselled jaw and high cheekbones made him naturally blessed with good looks and from the smirk on his face he knew this, although the way his knee bounced nervously below the table told Julia otherwise.

“Hey there,” the man spoke confidently, his brown locks falling across his forehead, softening his features. “I’m Jack, Jack Thompson but everyone calls me Mayhem.”

Julia took the hand he thrust across the table and shook it, “Julia, Julia Lancaster but you can call me Spitfire.”

He smirked, “Spitfire hey, I like that. So what brings a lovely lady such as yourself to The Hard Deck this fine evening.”

Julia broke out into a fit of laughter, trying to avoid knocking over her beer as she hit the table with her hand. Jack looked a little hurt but his face fell even more when a loud cackle from the woman behind him followed.

“Jack, you couldn’t flirt if your life depended on it. The name Dice,” she thrust her hand over Julia’s shoulder as she looked at her half upside down from her spot leaning backwards on the chair behind Julia. Julia shook Dice’s hand, careful not to knock the woman off balance as her chair wobbled. Dice placed her chair back on all four legs and moved it around to join Julia and Jack on the table previously occupied by Joey.

“I saw you at the icebreaker briefing. You're a WSO right?” Dice took a sip from her fruity drink, the little umbrella still stuck out the side of the glass.

“Yep, that’s me. That guy over there, Rooster, was sat next to me,” Julia pointed towards Bradley who was leaning over Joey, laughing at his poor aim. “And that’s my pilot.”

Jack looked at Dice and they shared a knowing look, “yeah we met him earlier today, looking like a drowned rat,” Jack added.

Julia sighed, running her hand over her face, “Yep that’s him.”

The conversation between the three of them flowed easily, Jack was so likeable and Dice, Julia soon learned her name was Sarah, was as tough as they come.

“So what’s with your callsigns then?” Julia asked after her third pornstar martini that Sarah insisted they had.

“Well I’m Dice because I ‘dice with death’ and ‘Mayhem’ causes mayhem,” Sarah laughed, “I guess it’s fitting for him to be my backseater with my flying.”

Julia found herself feeling less lonely in their presence and the evening went by far too quickly. Julia soon found herself waving her new friends goodbye but not before she slipped her number across the table to Jack.

“Call me.”

June 6th 2021, Miramar Beach, San Diego

After that first night, their time at Top Gun seemed to fly by. Between training, drills, briefings and spending time with Joey and Bradley, Julia barely had any time to think about her ex. She’d barely thought of him at all. Their call up to Top Gun had come at exactly the right time and moving to San Diego had filled her with a new sense of hope.

The sun was beating down on a particularly sunny day when Bradley suggested they head to the beach with a few of the other guys. Joey, of course, had jumped at the chance to spend more time with Bradley and Julia wasn’t opposed to topping up her tan.

The beach was relatively empty and while the boys went down to the water to play football, or whatever the hell they were doing, Julia found a nice spot on the beach and settled down with her book and the beer she’d got from the Hard Deck. ‘Thank God for the Hard Deck’ was a phrase commonly used amongst the aviators and its proximity to the beach was a God send.

Sarah and Jack were playing football further down the beach with Joey and Bradley. Jack and Julia had grown closer over the last few months and they often found themselves at each other's houses when Joey was off with Bradley in the evenings. Nothing official ever happened but he was a pleasant distraction.

As she read, her mind began to wander over the past few months, the book in front of her soon becoming an inanimate object to conceal her thinking. She recalled a morning a few months ago, back in April when they hadn’t been at Top Gun for all that long. The air had still been crisp and the mornings still bore the chill of Winter.

April 21st 2021,The Barracks, Miramar

Julia groaned, stretching out underneath her duvet and gasping as the cold air hit her flesh, rippling goosebumps up her arms. She closed her eyes once more debating whether she could catch another hour's sleep and still get to base on time. Their time at Top Gun seemed to be passing quickly, despite still having so much to get through, each day brought new challenges but Julia couldn’t deny how much she loved having some healthy competition. The clock by her bed glowed ominously through the sleepy haze showing 0700. The briefing didn’t start until 0900 but she wanted to get there to the base with time to spare and she’d have to make sure Joey wasn’t late again. She had to admit, he’d been in a considerably better mood since meeting Rooster, he generally was arriving on time which was a rarity for Joey. With another pathetic moan, she pushed the covers away from her body and dispersed from her warm cocoon. Her feet squealed in anguish as they landed against the cold tiled floor and she shuffled to put her slippers on and grab her dressing down before leaving her room. Her first stop was the coffee pot, boiling and fresh pot and sighing as she took her first sip. The warmth spread through her pleasantly. If Julia could she was sure she’d put herself on a coffee IV infusion permanently. With as much enthusiasm as she could muster, she wrapped her knuckles against Joey’s bedroom door.

“Joey, it’s time to get up,” the lack of any reply caused Julia to knock harder, she knew Joey was in there and he could hear her. “Joey, come on!”

There was a muffled moan from within the room and Julia decided that he was on his own now.

Sitting at the breakfast table she scrolled through her photo album of last night, smiling fondly at the pictures of Joey and Bradley together. Her particular favourite was the one where they both awkwardly caught themselves looking at each other as she’d taken the picture. It was so obvious that they shared feelings for each other, all the lingering looks, the awkward moments where their hands brushed ‘accidentally’, the late-night phone calls that Joey thought she couldn’t hear. The walls in the Navy-owned housing were paper thin and Julia could often lay in bed and listen to their neighbour's conversations. She had to admit that despite being surrounded by people all day and evening and being out in the evening with the boys, she was pretty lonely. It probably didn’t help that Facebook had bought up memories for ‘2 years ago today’ the other morning, causing her to delve back into memories she would much rather forget.

It had been a picture she had as her phone lock screen for so long that it seemed alien that she no longer looked at it every day. It was from her last trip to Europe with her boyfriend, it also happened to be the holiday when he proposed to her. She remembered it all so vividly, the smell of the pine trees that surrounded them as they ate their picnic, the way the sun had shone down on them, the playlist they had listened to in the car on the way to their destination. That was 2 years ago before it all fell through and they fell apart.

She managed to avoid him after their break up and gradually her heart began to heal, it no longer felt like a knife was embedded in her chest. In the end, they’d both resented each other for different reasons and their relationship had ended on relatively good terms, with both sides agreeing it was for the best. She’d refused to contact him, removing his number from her phone and moving across the country with Joey for their Top Gun training. It had come at the perfect time, allowing her to leave all the memories behind, but she’d only run away from her feelings and masked how she’d felt.

Switching off her phone she sighed, someone it felt like her heart would hurt forever but Joey had promised her that there was someone out there for her, someone who would understand the commitment she had to her job. Someone who would understand her work ethic and the trials a relationship with her would have. Someone who would take her on sweet dates, give her forehead kisses, and tell her funny jokes, and…

Julia swigged the last of her coffee, now cold in the bottom of the mug. Who was she kidding? It was all a fantasy. There wasn’t anyone like that out there for her.

May 8th 2021, The Hard Deck, Miramar

“Hello? Earth to Julia? Are you in there?” Joey poked her in the ribs causing Julia to jump in her seat.

“What?” She glared at him, watching as he shrunk back in his seat a little.

“You’ve been really distant the last few weeks. You keep zoning off. Where’d you go?” Joey meant well and deep down she knew that but as she looked at him she couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth.

“No, I’m fine. Just busy with all this Top Gun stuff, you know?” She lied, trying her best to keep a straight face.

Joey reached forward, clutching her hand in his, “If you need to talk about anything…” but she cut him off, shaking her head quickly.

“No. No, I'm fine. Or at least I will be.” Swigging the remainder of her beer before standing to leave, “I’m gonna head home to bed. I’m pretty tired after today's training. You guys have fun though.”

The boys waved her goodbye, and she tried to ignore the worried look that was etched across Joey’s face. She left the bar without looking back, taking the shortest root home and falling straight into bed.

She opened up her phone, inwardly groaning as it lagged so badly, and once again scrolling back through her camera roll to the years before. The memories flashed before her eyes as she relieved each and every moment that had once brought her such joy. That night Joey hadn’t come home until late and she’d cried herself to sleep, too exhausted by the time he’d gotten in to talk about his evening.

Squinting and shielding her eyes from the sun, she watched as a shirtless Jack ran up the beach, his sweaty hair sticking back from his forehead and sweat trickling down his chiselled abdomen. She found herself unable to tear her eyes off of him. As if Jack knew she was watching him, he looked up, smiling cheekily at her and raising his hand in a shy wave. Despite his ridiculously attractive face, Jack was far more reserved than he looked.

Julia sighed, picking her phone up out of her beach bag. It had 20% battery, just enough to see her through the day. Despite her normally well-organised schedule and her obsessive timekeeping she rarely ever left the house with a full battery. She flicked open the screen, scrolling back to the past once more. It was bittersweet really, the whole looking back to move forward.

She selected the years in bulk and sent more than three thousand pictures straight into the bin. She wasn’t worried about losing them anymore, and all the photos of her and Joey were backed up on her laptop, but at least there wouldn’t be the constant reminder of ‘him’ there every day. Top Gun was a new start for them and she intended to make the most of it.

She stood up, brushing the sand off her legs and dropping her phone back into her bag. She waved at Jack as she ran over to him. There was no harm in having some fun while they were here, right?

To think that today would be their final day at Top Gun hit Julia like a punch in the gut when she’d awoken that morning. The time had flown by and deposited treasuring every moment with Joey and the new friends she had made, their time was nearly up.

Thinking back on it all, Julia had to admit that the last few months had been the happiest of her life. Jack had been a great comfort to her when Joey wasn’t around and the pair had grown close. Sarah had become one of her best friends and Julia would even admit that Bradley was the best boyfriend Joey had ever had. Not that they would admit that to each other.

“I can’t believe we made it. We’re Top Gun graduates Joey. Who would have thought,” she squealed in delight, clutching her friend tightly and shaking him. Joey laughed, amused by her child-like excitement, although he too was ecstatic.

She caught Joey looking across the room and Bradley, who was in deep conversation with one of the instructors. “You know you two are good for each other. I’m pleased for you JoJo.”

Joey blushed, snorting at the nickname Julia had given him. “Yeah well, I’ve seen you getting pretty close to Jack too. What’s going on there?”

“Nothing,” she laughed, “We’re just friends.”

“Sure, sure,” Joey replied, “I’m gonna head over and see Brad. I’ll see you later at the Hard Deck.”

“Sure thing,” Julia turned around to see Jack and Sarah approaching. “Hey guys,” she waved them over.

“Hey yourself Spitfire. Hot damn I can’t believe you and Hurricane beat us. You guys are on fire,” Sarah laughed, giving Julia a sideways hug.

“Well what can I say,” Julia laughed, giving Jack a quick hug. “So, you guys are up for celebrating later? We’re all heading to the Hard Deck.”

Jack shook his head sadly, “I’m afraid not, Jules. We’ve been given our first assignment. We are heading out tonight.”

“Oh,” Julia wasn’t sure how to respond. She’d grown close to the pair over the last few months and it would be strange not to have them around every day. “Well, I’ll miss you guys. You stay in touch, okay?”

Sarah nodded, “Sure thing, Julia. I’ve got to go say goodbye to the others.” She turned to Jack, “Don’t be long, okay?”

Jack nodded, watching as his aviator retreated. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. We only got our orders last night and I didn’t want to ruin your graduation.”

Julia smiled sadly, reaching over and pulling Jack into a hug, “You couldn’t have ruined it. I’ll miss you, Jack.” Pulling away she grinned cheekily at him. “Promise you’ll write to me, like old-fashioned letters.”

Grinning wildly, Jack nodded his head, “Absolutely. Anything for you Spitfire.” The pair finished their goodbyes and Julia watched sadly as Jack disappeared into the crowd of fellow aviators. It suddenly dawned on her that she’d probably never come back here, to Top Gun. It had been a dream of hers for so many years and now the story was over but seeing Joey and Bradley laughing together with a few of the other pilots, she realised that no matter what she’d always had Joey, and their story was just beginning.

Tags: @seresinned @desert-fern @teacupsandtopgun @horseshoegirl @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s

#top gun maverick #julia lancaster #top gun fanfic #bob floyd #Joey Ambrose #bradley bradshaw

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