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dancethroughthethunder · 3 months ago

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Hiccups, Pens, and Other Ways Bob Might be a Wizard (Bob Floyd x Reader)

Pairing: Bob Floyd x Reader

Word Count: 7.4k

Summary: Five times your teammate Bob knows and does the exact thing you need and one time you hope to return the favor.

Author’s Note: As is a theme in my fics, I love love love friends to lovers and a 5+1 fic. This one happens to be with the sweetest WSO around, who I'm convinced is a Nana's Boy and an acts of service guy. This work can also be found here at my ao3. I hope you enjoy! Divider credit to @/saradika

Your morning exercise is going to start any minute and you can’t stop hiccupping. Usually some nice slow sips of water get rid of your hiccups but for some reason that doesn’t seem to be working right now. Eventually you set your water bottle down and groan.

Hangman and Coyote are laughing hysterically each time you hiccup, as if they’ve never heard someone have them before, and you can tell that Rooster is trying his best not to laugh along with them.

“It’s not that” hic “ funny.” You say, rolling your eyes at your teammates and thankful that Mav hasn’t arrived yet to start the day.

“It really is. You sound like a little mouse. Maybe we’ll change your name to Squeaky.” Hangman can barely get out in between laughs. For some reason, this is what breaks Rooster’s composure and he starts laughing along, muttering something you can’t quite catch about cheese.

You’re not offended, and you’re not really annoyed with your teammates, you just really want these damn hiccups to go away. You’ve held your breath, tried slowly drinking water, and you just can’t get rid of them. You know that Hangman is right and you sound ridiculous and all you can do is hope that by the time your morning officially starts and you all observe the first flight of the day, you’ll be back to normal. It’s not like they’re your fault, but you’re sure that Mav will give you shit for interrupting and distracting the team if they’re still happening once the day starts. At this point, you’re almost desperate enough to ask one of the guys to try and scare you. Almost.

You hear footsteps down the hall, and pick your water back up, hoping that if Mav’s on his way in, you’ll get lucky and be able to kick your hiccups quickly once and for all.

“What’s your callsign?” Bob calls out as he comes into the room, flight suit on and helmet in hand. Bob and Phoenix are first in the air this morning, and you’re surprised he’s in the briefing room instead of out on the tarmac.

“What?” hic .

Bob clearly knows your callsign, you’ve known each other for years, you two go back before the Uranium mission. Besides, even if you only met a few months ago, it’s painted on the side of your plane and in true Top Gun fashion, everyone else calls you it pretty much exclusively.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready to go up?” You ask.

“I’ve got a few minutes. Humor me?” It’s Bob, so even though you’re confused, you do. You’re not sure that there’s much that Bob could ask of you that you wouldn’t do without much hesitation.

“It’s” hic “Hawk.” You tell him, knowing that your tone conveys your confusion.

“Oh no, it’s Squeak now.” As per usual, you and Bob both ignore Hangman. You are tempted to flip him off but know that with your luck, that’ll be the moment an admiral strolls by. You keep your hands down and your attention focused on Bob.

“Good. Full name?” Bob nods earnestly as he asks, and you’re sure you’re looking at him suspiciously, but you go along with it, giving him your first, middle, and last name in between hiccups.

“Last one – what’s your birthday?” Okay, now you’re sure he has to be up to something but you give him the month and date, turning to look at Rooster who just shrugs.

“With the year?” Once again, you do what Bob asks and repeat your birthday, tacking on the year at the end. “Oh shit gotta run, you’re welcome Hawk!” Bob looks down at his watch and turns around to run, presumably out to the tarmac.

“What was that?” You turn to ask the rest of the squad when suddenly you realize that somewhere between your full name and now, your hiccups have completely disappeared.

“RIP Squeak, she squeaked her last squeak.” Fanboy’s comment doesn’t make sense, but everyone is laughing anyway.

You head to the door to watch Bob run out to meet Phoenix on the tarmac, yelling out after him.

“Bob what the fuck? Are you a wizard?” Shaking your head in disbelief, you make your way back to your seat just in time for Maverick to come in and turn on the flight radio to begin the day’s exercises. Mav’s clearly in a mood so you’re extra thankful, even if you’re not sure what drew Bob to the training room in the first place or how his interrogation solved your hiccup problem.

Resolving to ask Nat later, you grab a pen and your notepad and start trying to pay complete attention to Maverick as he walks you through the morning’s plan even though your mind keeps trying to drift towards your favorite WSO.

“Damn.” You’re trying to finish jotting down some thoughts before your next meeting, but your pen doesn’t seem to be cooperating. “Nat, do you have a spare pen I can borrow?”

Judging by her grimace, you know what she’s going to say before she says it.

“Sorry, Hawk. Try one of the guys?”

You love your teammates, you trust them with your life – literally – but at the end of the day, sometimes they’re useless. This is one of those times. For a group of highly decorated aviators, it’s shocking how often one of you has to cave and buy an entire box of cheap pens to keep around for everyone’s use.

Given how often you and Phoenix have teased the guys for using a last-resort pen (as you’d dubbed them), you really don’t want to have to go grab one. Even if you hadn’t given the guys shit about it, you’re particular about your pens when it comes to your personal work notes.

Contrary to popular belief, not everything you do at work is officially on the record, required by law. There’s nothing in your meeting notes that would require them to be kept or maintained, by policy, so while they’ll be securely disposed of due to their reference to highly classified information, they’re yours to do with what you’d like. For you, that means writing them with a gorgeous gel pen in your favorite shade of purple.

It’s one thing when you’re submitting something official, on record, then you understand the need for a simple blue or black ink. Truly, you don’t mind all of the rules and regs, you wouldn’t have survived this long in the Navy if you did. Sometimes, though, it’s nice to branch out where you can, and for you an easy way is your note-taking. Your mom has always had the most beautiful handwriting, and is always taking notes, and jotting down thoughts and to-do lists in pens of all colors with stationery scattered around the house. While your handwriting is a far cry from hers, you definitely got her love of stationary and pretty pens.

You’d once swapped Hangman’s pen for a sparkly pink gel pen after he’d made a bullshit comment about your notes, calling you Naval Aviator Barbie. You’d only agreed to give his original pen back once he apologized to you and Nat, and admitted that your ability to do your job and your pen choice are completely separate. That, and you made him promise to buy you each two drinks the next time you went to the Hard Deck.

Was the punishment worth the crime? Not at all. You eagerly admitted to Nat later that you were already in a bad mood, and had lashed out even though you knew Hangman was just having fun. Sure he crossed a line now and then, but even you admitted that his pen comment wasn’t one of them.

To your amusement, he refused to give back the pink pen and occasionally left you notes written in it, or loaning it to the rest of the team when they inevitably turned up without a pen.

This time, it’s your turn without a pen. Normally you have a spare, but you suddenly realize that you forgot to grab an extra, last time you were in this situation. Looking down at your beautiful purple pen once more, you resign yourself to having to go grab a cheap pen from the box at the side of the room.

Sighing as you stand up to make your way to the box of shame cheap pens, you’re stopped by a hand on your arm.

“Did you say you needed a pen?” Bob asks.

“Yeah, I thought I had one.” You shrug. As much as you love your pretty pens, it really isn’t the end of the world, you’ve already spent a very silly amount of time thinking about it.

“I have one!” Bob smiles as he reaches into his pocket.

Bob, like you, appreciates a decent pen, though he’s more likely to stick to a standard blue. Which is why you’re surprised when he pulls an exact duplicate of the pen in your hand out of his pocket.

“Bob, you lifesaver. That’s my favorite pen! Thank you!”

“I know. It’s no big deal.” He brushes off your thanks and heads back to his chair.

You’re not sure how you got so lucky as to have Bob have one of your favorite kinds of pens ready for you, but you’re not complaining. In fact, it makes it even sweeter a few minutes later when Fanboy’s pen dies and he makes a show of getting a last-resort pen. As Fanboy grabs his new pen, you tear off the page you’re writing on and slide it over to Bob.

Bob reads your thank you note (in your pretty purple pen) and smiles, while you try and avoid making eye contact with Nat. She knows you too well to accept ‘it’s polite to say thank you’ as an excuse for your handwritten note, and you definitely don’t want to have that conversation with her at work, in front of everyone. You wouldn’t put it past her to say something, especially since she’s been on you about catching you staring at Bob lately. You know that eventually you’ll cave and talk to her about it, but for now you make a show of focusing on your new pen and preparing for your next meeting.

3:07 A.M.

Maverick’s Angels(Dagger Emoji)

You: Hey guys, ask me what I’m doing

You: Okay what are you doing, Hawk?

You: Thank you for asking! I’m currently sitting outside my building waiting for FD to shut off the alarm at my building for the third time. Third!! Twice now they’ve gotten it off just for it to start again within 30 seconds. I’ve been out here for an hour.

You: I will both beg and pay whoever is getting coffee tomorrow (today???) to get me a large instead

You: Please

You: I’m like 99% sure it’s Coyote’s week. Javy I’ll love u forever.

You: & if I’m wrong, I’ll love whoever puts my coffee in my hand (sorry Javy. or not. If it is you. Idk anymore).

6:15 A.M.

Bob Floyd: Swap coffee runs with me. I’ll go this morning, you can go next week.

Bob Floyd: Please.

Javy Machado: (salute emoji)

Sometime after the Uranium mission, after being stood up as a special detachment at North Island, you all fell into the routine of Friday morning coffee. You can’t even remember who started it, but someone suggested that once a week, someone stops by the coffee shop near base to pick up coffee for everyone. It’s close enough to base to not be wildly inconvenient, but the most important thing is that it’s off base. There’s only so much cheap government office coffee you can drink.

You have a standing order for Friday mornings, and a rotation for who gets it. No one person has to be the one to pay, pick it up, or bring it more than once in two months with your arrangement. As far as anyone knew, it was supposed to be Coyote’s week to grab the coffee, so when you run into the briefing room (later than you normally would but not enough to be considered truly late), you’re surprised to see Bob handing out coffees.

You’re so busy complaining to Phoenix about how tired you are that you didn’t even stop to look down at the coffee being put in your hand before taking a sip of it. It’s a large as opposed to your regular medium order and you’re so thankful you sent that 3AM text in the group chat. As you take a sip, you’re pleasantly surprised by the flavor.

On the weekend, the sweeter your coffee, the better. You love adding different syrups and flavors, trying whatever specialty latte or coffee the barista recommends. You’re just as happy with a simple medium iced coffee, black with one sugar, and you know that’s significantly easier for the weekly coffee roundup so on Fridays you keep your order simple. Which means you took a sip expecting an iced coffee, black with just a hint of sweetness, and instead you end up recognizing the taste of an iced maple latte, with a little cinnamon stirred in and what you think might also be an extra shot of espresso.

Rooster comes flying into the room to grab his coffee, and you barely have time to toss Bob an extremely grateful smile and mouth a quick ‘thank you’, seconds before Maverick strolls in, grabbing his own coffee and going to the front of the room to start the day.

When you woke up at your normal, much later than 3AM, time you had been pretty sure that your sleep-addled self was right, it was Coyote’s week to grab coffee. You’re so thankful you were wrong. Only Bob would have thought to change up your order and grab your number one favorite latte, knowing that you had a rough night (morning?).

It’s not until later when you’re chatting with Fanboy that you overhear Bob thanking Coyote for swapping coffee weeks with him. You’re sure Fanboy notices the way you pause, mid-sentence while you take in this information, but he does you the favor of not saying anything, steering you back to your conversation while you wonder what, if anything, Bob might have meant with your coffee.

You’re supposed to be heading out the door any minute to go see some local band perform. You should be leaving shortly, just as soon as Bob and Nat come to pick you up. The three of you will be going to meet Hangman, Rooster, Fanboy, and Coyote at the bar. Knowing how punctual Nat and Bob are, you were pretty proud of yourself for managing to be ready on time, until you couldn’t find your phone. As unnatural as it would feel to go out without it, it would be even worse since you were the one to download everyone’s tickets.

So far you’ve triple checked the pockets of your denim shorts, checked the pockets of the comfy robe you wore getting ready, looked under the cushions of your couch, scoured every counter and dresser top, and you just can’t find it. If only this venue was more old school, you’d be able to print out a copy of your tickets from your laptop but no, they have to use a rotating QR code.

“Fuck.” You groan, deciding to drop to your knees and check under the couch. You can’t imagine why it would be there, but considering you haven’t found it in any of the places that would have made sense, it’s worth a shot.

“Hi, it’s us.” Natasha calls out as she walks into your apartment. “Door was unlocked.”

“Come in.” You yell back from your spot searching under the couch.

You hear footsteps coming closer as Nat and Bob head into the living room, where they find you on your knees, ass up, searching for your phone. Your search feels even more urgent and even more ridiculous now that your friends have arrived to witness it.

“Damn, nice view.” Without being able to see her, you know Nat’s talking about your ass. You maneuver yourself so that the arm closest to her stops feeling around for your phone and instead snakes out from under the couch to flip her off. Unsurprisingly, Natasha laughs at this and you’re pretty sure you hear a chuckle from Bob.

“Um, Hawk, what’s up?” Bob tentatively asks.

Groaning one more time, annoyed with yourself, you scoot backwards out from under the couch and sit back on your heels, looking up at your friends.

“I can’t find my phone. I know we’re supposed to be on our way but I can’t find the damn thing I’ve checked everywhere. And even worse, I have everyone’s tickets on it.” You tell them, standing up and pointing out where you’ve already looked as Natasha starts retracing your footsteps.

Once you’ve finished your brief recap of where you were when you noticed it was gone, and where you’ve looked, Bob gives you a brief nod and heads into the kitchen. Shrugging, you and Natasha follow as he walks determinedly over towards your fridge where he reaches up, grabbing your phone.

“Oh my god, you found it.” Your jaw drops. “Maybe you really are a wizard.”

“What the fuck, Hawk? Why would it have been there?” Natasha laughs, snapping a quick picture of Bob, the fridge, and your phone, to use to tease you about later.

“What could have possessed me to put it up there? Thanks, Bob.” Walking over to grab your phone, you catch your reflection in the microwave. “Ah shit, give me one second, let me go fix my hair then we can go.”

You dash off to the bathroom to smooth your hair back down from its slight messiness, caused no doubt by your search under the couch.

“Alright, let’s go. I don’t want to hear shit from Bagman if we’re late.” Nat grabs your purse off its hook, calling out to let you know she has it as she heads outside to start the car.

“Seriously, you’re a lifesaver Bob. How could you possibly know that’s where I put it?” You ask as you meet him by the door and duck down to tug on your shoes.

Bob shrugs, “I pay attention, and I know you.”

For a moment, you’re so thrown off by the admission that you nearly stumble. You catch yourself, crouched down, one foot in the air, still trying to put on your shoe, and try to figure out how a person responds to something that kind and that blunt. Before you have a chance to do anything other than finish putting on your shoes, straighten up, and smile at Bob, you hear the car horn outside as Natasha indicates her growing impatience.

Together, you set outside as Bob waits while you lock up. You’re excited for tonight, you love going to concerts and spending time with your friends, and while you walk towards the car, you’re thinking about the possibility that your inevitable twirling around the dance floor with Nat might turn into a dance with Bob as well.

“Ladies first.” Getting to the car half a step before you, Bob politely opens the front passenger door and gestures for you to take the seat next to Nat. As you climb in, neither you nor Bob say anything about the slight blush on both of your faces, and you hope that Nat’s too focused on pulling out of the driveway to notice.

“So is this a good time to ask why you didn’t just log into your computer and transfer the tickets to one of us?” Nat asks once you get on the highway.

“It most certainly is not.” You reply, trying not to groan (again) at how flustered you were by your own confusing choice of places to set your phone.

“Whatever, fridge girl.” Nat looks like the cat that got the cream as you groan at your new nickname. You can only hope that you can remind her how much you love her as your best friend and talk her out of using it in front of the guys later. You know Hangman would never let you live it down, and he certainly doesn’t need any more encouragement to drive you nuts.

“Seriously Bob, how did you know where my phone was?” You turn around to look at the man in the backseat.

“I’ve seen you put it there before, and then also forget where it is.” He admits, with a sweet smile that doesn’t feel mocking, even though you both know how silly it is.

“How have I never noticed that?” You’re asking yourself just as much as you’re asking him.

“Oh, whenever I notice, I move it back down to the counter so it’s easier to spot.” Bob says, in a very matter of fact way, like it isn’t one of the sweetest things you’ve ever heard.

This time, you know that Nat catches the blush on your cheeks and from the look she’s giving you, you just know that you’re going to get pulled aside later to finally talk about your feelings. Depending on how many rounds you can talk Hangman into buying you first, you think you might just let her. Turning back to face the road, you decide that you aren’t just thinking about dancing with Bob, you’re actively hoping for it and looking forward to what the night might entail.

It’s been half an hour since you sat down, and you’re getting the feeling that your date truly isn’t coming. You’d tried to rationalize to yourself that half an hour isn’t the end of the world (maybe traffic was bad) before remembering that you were already five minutes late to get to the restaurant, and it took them another fifteen minutes to seat you. So really, Prince Charming is 50 minutes late.

You groan, remembering Phoenix teasing you about your date in front of the rest of the team this morning, knowing that they’re bound to ask you about it tomorrow. The date was with some friend of a friend so you’re not all that broken up about him personally, it’s just the general feeling of embarrassment that stings.

Picking your phone up, you text Phoenix that you’re admitting defeat and are trying to figure out whether you should cut your losses and call an uber to head home or stay and at least treat yourself to dinner. Until you see your phone light up and laugh at yourself for not assuming that your best friend would make the decision for you.

7:52 PM

Natty: Give me 15, I’m on my way. I’ll come in on my knees begging your forgiveness for being late. Take all of the attention off you and onto my groveling.

You: You’re ridiculous.

You: See you soon.

You slide your phone away, recognizing that an apology text from your date won’t be coming and order a second glass of wine the next time your waitress walks by. You’re probably not the first person to have been stood up in this restaurant, but if the waitress gives you a look of pity one more time you might just melt into the floor. So you spend the next few minutes making a point to really read the menu, and hope that Nat won’t actually be too embarrassing when she shows up.

“I’m sorry darlin’, I just completely couldn’t get away sooner.” Looking up, you’re shocked to see Bob standing in front of you, holding flowers, and wearing his uniform. You hear a soft aww from behind you as the waitress comes up to take Bob’s drink order.

Bob hands you the flowers as he sits down, and smiles at you.

“Well hi there. I can’t say I was expecting you.” You smile at the flowers, and then at Bob.

“I was at Tasha’s and she mentioned what happened. She said she was going to come cause a scene begging for your forgiveness but then thought maybe me coming in late, in uniform, would make up for it as opposed to her groveling at your feet. Ya know, imply work’s why I was late.” Bob gestures to the uniform and blushes as the two of you laugh over the image of Phoenix begging your forgiveness.

“Well, who can resist a man in uniform? I mean truly, why else do you think I even joined up?” You joke.

It’s not a joke you’d make to most people, knowing that so many do think that way about women in the military. But you trust Bob. Mama Floyd raised a good one, and you know he’s never once thought of you or Natasha that way, and he frequently listens to you two complain about the guys who do.

You’re still not entirely sure why it’s Bob coming to your rescue instead of Nat but you’re thankful he’s here saving you from further embarrassment and it’s not like you’re complaining about getting to have dinner with a kind, handsome man in uniform. Even if it’s the same uniform you have in your closet, and even if he’s just a friend. Because that’s all he is, right? Right. At least that’s all that you’ve let yourself admit. Gently shaking your head as if to physically knock those thoughts off to the side, you look back up at Bob.

“If you still want to go home, we can. I just thought that maybe this way you’d still get a nice dinner. I thought maybe it would be better…” Bob trails off, a shy shrug betraying his hesitation.

“Better than doing a solo walk of shame out of here alone, having clearly been stood up? It’s definitely better. Thanks, Bob. As long as you don’t mind being my date for the night.” You wink.

“Oh no, ma’am. Special orders from Lieutenant Trace to ‘do the charming gentleman thing’, and also for us to bring back ice cream.” That doesn’t surprise you. You’re not sure which one of the three of you has the bigger sweet tooth, and regardless of how the night went you had already been planning to stop at the nearby ice cream shop to bring something back for a post-date debrief with Nat, hoping that maybe Bob would be there too.

“Then let’s do it.” You slip your hand in Bob’s as the two of you look over the menu, and chat about your day. Eventually the waitress comes back with Bob’s drink and the two of you place your orders, with Bob politely letting you go first.

When your food arrives, you reluctantly pull your hand out of Bob’s. You’re not entirely sure why Bob hadn’t pulled his hand away, maybe he’s trying to really sell your fake date for the waitress? Regardless, you like the feeling of your hand in his warm one and are more than happy, if a bit confused, to keep it there as long as you can.

“So, possibly-a-wizard Bob, the hiccup trick. How? And how did you even know I needed you?”

“Oh,” he laughs, “well I’d left my glasses cloth in my locker and always prefer having it on me before I go up, just making sure they’re as clean as possible before I’m in the air.” You nod, knowing exactly what he means. The two of you had joked before about wishing glasses had teeny tiny wipers like car dashboards, especially for people like the two of you with a job requiring such an attention to detail.

“I was walking past the training room and heard you hiccupping and Hangman’s loud mouth teasing you, so I figured that wasn’t the first one. As for the cure, no clue why it works. It’s a Nana Floyd special.” He admits.

“Why am I not surprised, if anyone’s magic, it’s absolutely your nana.” You and the team had a chance to meet her when she came for a visit with Bob’s parents, and you immediately took a liking to the sweet woman. You’ve always been close with your own grandmother, and it certainly helped how much of Bob you could see in his nana.

“Exactly, so I figured I had just enough time to help you out. I was just hoping it would work and that it wasn’t a Nana-only secret.” He smiles.

“Fair enough, I’m pretty lucky the Floyd magic works for you too, then.” Trying not to think about how he could work his magic on you, you continue, “and speaking of, how did you have an extra one of my favorite pens ready to go?” You stop to take a bite of your dinner, never looking away from Bob.

“Oh, well I know you and Natasha can be particular about your pens and stuff so I usually have an extra, just in case.”

Right then, the waitress stops by to ask how your meals are, and you realize that without even noticing, you two are almost halfway done eating. You’ve been so engrossed in your conversations, your actual date could have shown up with an entire brass band and you’d have been none the wiser.

“Well, that’s incredibly kind. Thank you, Bob.” You smile, continuing your conversation.

“Anything for you, darlin’.” Bob looks at you earnestly before looking down at his plate, focusing his attention on grabbing another forkful of veggies.

The astonishing thing is that you think he might mean it.

The two of you finish dinner and unsurprisingly, though you try to fight it, Bob insists on paying for the entire meal.

“Hawk, I’m not letting you pay.” He rolls his eyes, good-naturedly, at your stubborn streak.

“Bobby, I’m not making you pay for a date you didn’t even plan on taking me on.”

“Come on, darlin’, don’t make me have to tell Nana that I didn’t pay for dinner on a date. You can’t do that to me.” He says with a smile, holding a hand to his chest as if the idea is physically painful. You smile and shake your head, giving in, and try not to melt too much as he shoots you a playful wink as he sets his credit card down on the table.

With a wink that rivals Rooster’s, and gentlemanly charm like you’ve seen Hangman pull out once or twice, quiet but charming Bob could do some serious damage to the female population of San Diego. Even if he’s just here to save you, you’re feeling lucky to be the one receiving his attention.

Bob finishes paying, and you get ready to go, making sure to grab your beautiful bouquet.

“Now, what kind of date would I be if I didn’t get you that ice cream?” Bob asks as he takes your hand again, leading you out of the restaurant.

“One that still brought me flowers and bought me dinner, which was especially kind as again, he was rescuing me from being stood up.” You tease.

“Let me put it this way, we both know how badly you want some ice cream, and even if I wouldn’t get it for you anyways, Nat’ll kill us if we don’t bring some back. So if I get to keep being your date for the next few minutes, I’m doing it right and buying you ice cream.”

For a second, Bob almost looks nervous, like he’s said too much. For your part, you can’t stop thinking about how nice it would be to be on a real date with Bob, not just being two good friends out to dinner, one rescuing the other’s pride from serious embarrassment.

“Alright, ice cream it is. Thank you.” You gently squeeze his hand as you wonder how much longer until he pulls away. You’re on your dream date with your dream guy and half of you wants to thank Phoenix and your missing date for their involvement, and half of you wants to curse them for putting this opportunity in front of you, only for you to know that it’s fake, just a friend doing a favor.

There’s no time to think about that right now, as Bob leads you towards his truck, where he opens the door for you and holds your flowers while you buckle in. Either Bob’s a significantly better actor than you’d ever realized, or maybe, just maybe, this means something to him too. You think you might embarrass yourself too much if you worry about it tonight, so for now you decide to just enjoy the moment, knowing that you’ll tell Nat every detail later once Bob leaves.

On the short drive to the ice cream parlor, you make up your mind. You’re going to let Bob buy you ice cream, drive you to Nat’s so you can all hang out, and then later once he heads home, you’ll stay and talk to your best friend about everything you’ve been thinking about all of the sweet little things Bob does for you. Then, if you’re brave enough, and if Nat doesn’t tell you that you’re making a catastrophic mistake, you might just plan to talk to Bob about it.

And then, 1.

Part of you is nervous that you’ve been misreading everything, you know Bob’s a sweetheart to everyone. You’re sure that he would have helped anyone with their hiccups, and you happen to think you have great taste in pens and ink color, it’s not like you have a monopoly on their use or like it’s inherently romantic to have an extra pen for a teammate. Hell, he even keeps some for Nat.

You know he’s observant, that also explains being able to find your phone, right? But on the other hand, you can’t explain it all away as just being friendly. Bob could easily have let Javy grab you a large coffee, and there’s practically a million easier options he could have chosen instead of showing up to save you from your failed date, in uniform, with flowers. He could have let Phoenix come get you as she was planning, he could have joined her in coming to get you, and he could even have just come to pick you up by himself.

Thinking back to sitting at that restaurant, holding Bob’s hand and looking at that sweet face while you talked, you can’t help but smile. No, there’s no denying it. Showing up dressed and ready to wine and dine you to save you from a bad day and a no-show date isn’t exactly the standard friendly course of action. You’re sure he wouldn’t have acted that way with Nat, as close as they are. Yeah, Bob is a sweetheart, but it has to be more than that. You want it to be more than that. More than that, you’ve talked the situation over nonstop with Nat as she insisted that this wasn’t just in your head.

Which is how you’ve found yourself standing on his doorstep, a bunch of sunflowers in one hand and takeout from your shared favorite burger place in the other. You adjust your sweater one last time and knock on the door.

“Hi there.” The door opens and you’re quick to greet a very surprised Bob.

“Hi, darlin’. Nice flowers.” Ever since your ‘date’, Bob has let a ‘darlin’ slip in here and there. It takes more strength than you’d care to admit not to melt every time he says it. You like it just as much as when he calls you by your real name, as opposed to your callsign. Though you have to admit that ‘Hawk’ sounds pretty good coming from his lips, too.

“I’m glad you think so, they’re for you.” You hand Bob the flowers as you step past him into his house.

“How do you know my favorite flower?” He looks at you curiously.

You could tell him that you’ve seen the fresh bunches he usually has around whenever you all come over for movie night. Or you could tell him that you remember meeting his Nana and hearing her call him Sunflower as she wrapped him up in a tight hug. You could even tell him that it was a lucky guess. But you remember a similar conversation a few weeks ago, so instead you smirk and take a teeny tiny step towards telling him how you feel.

“I pay attention, and I know you.”

It takes a second for Bob to place the words, and somehow his smile gets even wider. He takes the flowers from you, and it takes all of your self control not to reach out and put your hand on his cheek, right where he’s blushing.

You follow his lead, heading into his kitchen as he grabs a vase and starts trimming the flowers to go in it.

“So, Bob. Last week, you rescued me with a great dinner. For tonight, I brought takeout.” You lift the bag in your hand. “I was thinking maybe we could go out for dinner later this week, if you’d like?”

“Sure, that sounds nice. With the team?” Bob looks up and sees you furrow your eyebrows.

“Oh, if that’s what you want!” You try to quickly recover from your disappointment. For what is probably half of a second but feels like an eternity, you and Bob just look at each other. Then, it hits you that you’ve had all of this time to process how you think Bob feels but when it comes to your feelings, you just sprung it on him. Well, no, that’s not quite right. You haven’t actually told him yet. Knowing Bob like you do, he’s probably taking the absolute safest route to avoid making things awkward in case you don’t mean anything other than friendship.

“Oh God”, you groan, “Can I try this again?” Bob nods, but he’s clearly not entirely sure what’s going on.

“Okay, Bob, in addition to the flowers, I brought takeout for dinner tonight, as you can see. I was wondering if later this week, you’d like to go out for dinner. With me. As a date. This time, planned and on purpose. Together.” You don’t know if you’ve ever stumbled through a sentence like that, but you also have never asked out a guy like Bob, as wonderful and kind and jaw-droppingly handsome, so it makes sense you’re off your game.

“Oh!” Bob’s eyes get wide, and he looks down at the bouquet in his hands, smiling sweetly. “That sounds great, darlin’. I’d like that a lot.”

“Perfect, it’s a date.” You lean over and give Bob a quick kiss on the cheek, before going to grab plates and heading to the living room with the food.

You hear the fridge open and turn around to ask, “Bob would you mind grabbing me a lemonade?” right as he comes into the room, already carrying a can of your favorite pink lemonade for you.

“Okay, see, it’s this! How do you do that, are you sure you’re not a wizard?” You tease.

“I’m sure,” he laughs, “I just know you.” And how lucky you are to be known by Bob.

“I hope you know, it’s not just the gifts and the things you do for me that make me interested in you. I mean that’s part of it, sure. How could a girl resist a handsome man who always has her favorite drink ready and knows how to fix her when she’s running late and frazzled. You pay attention and you see me, but I see you too, Bobby.”

Bob looks down and smiles, a sweet blush coloring his cheeks. Bob does more than enough to show you he cares so you push on with your plan to make sure it’s clear how you feel, despite the slight worry that you’re coming on too strong.

“I know that you love cooking, but you’d rather cook for all of us than just yourself on Sundays because if it’s just you then it feels like a chore to get ready for the week. I know that you’ll never admit that to your family who raised you on Sunday dinners, and that you probably called them this morning like you do every weekend to say hi. I know that when the first summer day rolls around, you’re going to drive with the windows down and country music on the radio.”

You start putting your food onto your plates, giving you somewhere to direct your attention other than just intensely staring at Bob, as you continue.

“It’s the way you always look for me in a crowd and save me a seat at the hard deck, and you listen to my stupid jokes, and remember the things I like. And I know you’re a good friend to all of us, but you do even more for me. You’re a good man, an incredibly kind man, Robert Floyd. The best I know.” Remembering what he said earlier, you add, “And I’m lucky to be known by you.”

This time it’s your turn to blush, worried that you’ve said too much. You were only planning to ask him on a date, not unload all of your feelings onto him.

“Hawk,” he starts, before wordlessly taking the plate you’re working on out of your hands and setting it down on the coffee table.

Bob gently places a hand on your cheek, and you’re already turning to look at him as he looks at you.

“Darlin,” he tries again. You’re anxiously waiting to hear what comes next. How could you have never noticed the way that he looks at you before now? If you could have one wish for the rest of your life, it would be for Bob to keep looking at you like you’re the loveliest thing he’s ever seen.

Then he says your name, your real name, softly, before slightly nodding to himself and moving even closer to you. The next thing you know, Bob’s lips are on yours and both of his hands are gently cupping your face, holding you as if you’re the most important thing in the world.

Up until now, you thought it was a romance-novel cliche to sigh into a kiss. Now you hear yourself sigh and know better. You can’t imagine a world where you don’t know what it’s like to kiss him. You can't believe this is the first time you're getting to kiss Bob. Sweet, handsome Bob who pulls away, and gives you one of the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen.

“How could I not feel the same way? I’m the lucky one. Nat said you might be interested and I was worried I was overdoing it –” And this time, you lean in, pressing another kiss to his lips before he can even finish his sentence. Then suddenly you’re giggling into the kiss, thinking about the ways that you’ve hoped he was interested, and the ways he was desperately trying to broadcast his feelings while allowing you the space to comfortably reject him.

“Do you think that maybe this time, Nana Floyd would be okay if I paid, since I asked you on the date? I mean, really, it’s feminism when you think about it.” You joke once you pull away.

“You know Nana’s all for girl power, but on the first real date? I don’t think so, darlin’.”

“Hmm, that last date felt pretty real to me.” You admit.

“I know what you mean. Maybe our first real, planned date, is what I mean. One where I’m on time, and instead of grabbing the first bouquet I see to try not to be any later, I bring your favorite flowers, and if I’m lucky I get to kiss you goodnight.”

“There’s no chance I’ll let you leave without a kiss. But I don’t have a favorite flower.” You tell him, but Bob just laughs.

“I know you, and I also know that you think that’s true.” Bob winks again, and this time it’s even more incredible because you know he means it.

“We’ll see, Bobby.”

He leans in, pressing a quick kiss to your cheek before moving to pick up your plates.

“Now what do you say we have dinner and watch a movie, darlin’. Then maybe you’ll let me be lucky enough for a preview of Saturday with another kiss.”

“I think I can do that.” You finish putting the food on your plates, splitting the regular fries and curly fries exactly in half between you.

Looking at the mischievous, confident look on Bob’s face, you say a quick thank you to the universe for letting you be the only woman in San Diego who gets to experience his charms like that. Falling for Bob is easy, especially when he goes out of his way to show his constant affection and attention, hiccup cures, shared dinners, and all.

#in which meg writes #my writing #bob floyd x reader #bob floyd x you #bob floyd x y/n #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #bob floyd the man you are #friends to lovers #5+1 things #5+1 fic #divider credit: saradika

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lostdreamr-blog1 · 2 months ago

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Legacy

Pairing: Iceman x daughter!reader

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: Mentions of death

A/N: With the upsetting news of Val Kilmer passing, I’ve been in my Iceman feels. A few more Iceman one shots to follow. Thank you for reading - C

When you first told your dad you wanted to be a pilot, you were nearly five. Your mom said he laughed it off, chalking it up to your obsession with Top Gun. A childish dream, he figured—something you’d outgrow in a few years. Who could blame you? The planes were fast, the uniforms cool, and the base was your personal playground.

On your eleventh birthday, Uncle Mav took you up in one of his personal planes. Your dad was stuck in a meeting and had given Maverick one job: keep you out of trouble. Which, technically, he did. You two flew for hours, time slipping away like nothing. The note left behind for your dad simply read, Be back in a few. By the time you landed, your dad was livid.

He stood at the hangar’s edge, arms crossed, aviators on, watching the two of you walk up. Mav immediately knew he was in trouble, but how could he say no when his only niece asked to fly?

Your dad had a whole lecture ready about recklessness, responsibility, and needing permission. But the second you ran up to him, grinning ear to ear, animatedly retelling the flight, the fire in him faded. He glanced at Maverick, who smirked knowingly. And that cold Iceman exterior cracked just enough for a small smile. Your love for flying was pure. Still, your dad held onto the hope that you wouldn’t follow in his footsteps.

Your senior year of high school was one of your best. You’d been flying single-prop planes for years, occasionally sneaking into the cockpit of one of Mav’s when your dad wasn’t around. You were a well-rounded student with one secret goal you hadn’t told your dad at least, not until just before graduation.

You remember sitting at the dinner table, leg bouncing as your dad finished telling your mom how his day had been. Uncle Mav had just sat down with a plate of food, eyeing you suspiciously. While your dad was too occupied with settling down from a long day, Uncle Mav saw right through you. He nudged your leg under the table, catching your attention. The question was mouthed, “Are you okay?”

The shrug of your shoulder was what brought your dad into the silent conversation. “Anything the two of you want to share?” His eyes had bounced between the pair, now catching on to how nervous you looked.

You exhaled. “I got into the Naval Academy.”

Silence. You knew your parents had hoped flying was just a hobby. They had no idea you’d been quietly stressing over the application for months.

Maverick looked like he was trying not to grin. Your mom stared, wide-eyed, already understanding the path you were about to take. But your dad, he set his fork down, slowly processing.

You’d always told him everything. Your hopes, fears, dreams. This, though this he had no idea about.

“And you kept this from me… why?”

You expected the question. He was your best friend. And this, well… this could either bring you closer or tear you apart.

“I didn’t want to disappoint you,” you said. “Either by not getting in… or by getting in.”

He shook his head slightly. “Getting into the Academy is a huge accomplishment. Very few get the chance. Of course I’m proud of you, kid. Why would you think I wouldn’t be?”

You looked down. “Because I want to be a Top Gun pilot. And you don’t want that for me.”

You didn’t see his hands clench. Didn’t notice the glance he shot Maverick. All you heard was: “And if that’s your dream, then I’ll support you however I can. I’m proud of you.”

Which is why it felt like a betrayal, years later.

You graduated from the Academy. You earned your spot flying F-18s. You worked harder than anyone, your flying record spotless, your performance unmatched. You earned the call sign “Frost” after someone asked if it was because of your dad.

“No,” someone replied. “She’s colder than he is and she earned it.”

You did everything right. Everything you could to be selected for Top Gun. But others kept getting picked over you, and you couldn’t figure out why.

Until you met Bradley Bradshaw.

You didn’t grow up with him. your dad hadn’t been as close to the fallen RIO as Mav was. He was a few years older, always in a different class. But you were bound to cross paths eventually.

It just happened to be at the worst time.

You were at a bar, nursing a beer when the mustached pilot sat beside you and ordered a whiskey straight.

“What has the mighty Frost drinking alone on a Wednesday?” he asked.

You snorted. “Reflecting. You?”

He chuckled. “Questioning life.” Then paused. “How well do you know Maverick?”

You tried to rack your brain for why he would ask that. In the little you knew about him, his dad was close with the pilot. Even when he passed, you knew Maverick continued to show up for him.

You hesitated. “Grew up with him. My dad considers him family. Why?”

He sighed. “I poured everything into getting into Top Gun. Found out he pulled my papers. No explanation.”

You froze. If Maverick could pull papers… your dad could, too. Your hands shook as you pulled out your phone and called Mav.

“Did my dad pull my papers?” you asked, voice barely steady.

He didn’t need to hear the answer to know it was yes. Bradley flagged down more drinks.

You lost years over that. Years of silence. But eventually, you and Bradley made it. You graduated Top Gun together as the top two in your class. An honor you didn’t share with your dad or Mav. Not yet. The hurt was still too raw.

A year later, your mom called.

She had always played Switzerland between you and your dad, but now she was urging you home.

What started as a sore throat had turned into throat cancer. Aggressive. Unforgiving.

Suddenly, those years of defiance felt small. Petty. Time you threw away because you didn’t agree with a decision. Time he endured, silently, battling the pain of losing you and then battling cancer.

You let go of the past. Spent every possible moment with him. Told him everything about Top Gun, the dogfights, the friendships. About Bradley, and how you wished you’d known him sooner.

In turn, he told you how had had been following every deployment and every accomplishment you had in your career. Pictures were on his wall in the office of your graduation. A replica certificate of graduating number one in your class hung next to his. Tears were shed between the two of you as you both come to the acceptance that days like this were coming to an end, and your best friend was about to be taken from you.

Your dad pulled strings to keep you state side as long as he could, and you were grateful for it. Every visit you had with him seemed like it could be the last. No longer could he speak. His body was becoming frail from the chemo. He was starting to spend more time asleep rather awake. But you both promised each other to make the most of it.

Your 30th birthday brought an assignment from hell. But at least it was near home.

You reconnected with Maverick after years of standing in solidarity with Bradley, much to Mav’s dismay. The only positive you seemed to find in the beginning was that it wasn’t far from home, allowing you to see your dad most nights.

By some miracle, you brought a boy home for the first time. You saw a new light in your dads’ eyes when you told him to set out one extra plate for dinner. Was he surprised when it happened to be the one guy who drove you up the wall back at the academy? Possibly. But Jake Seresin has his way of charming himself into your heart.

It was almost like your dad was making sure you were going to have someone to care for you when he left. The very next day, Maverick pulled you into his office and broke the news to you.

You don’t remember much after that, just that he held you while you broke.

Now, you stand at his grave.

As you stood there staring at his grave, you had to wonder why you were only given 30 years with your best friend. And in those mere 30, a few of them you spitefully kept from him. But you proved him wrong in the best ways. The love for flying was something the two of you shared. A bond that could never be broken.

As his casket lowered into the ground, you knew this wasn’t just about your journey anymore. Flying for the Pacific Fleet wasn’t just for you. It was to carry on the legacy of the man who gave you your wings.

#iceman x reader #tom iceman kazansky #tom kazansky x reader #topgun maverick #bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #jake hangman seresin x reader #topgun #chelsea writes

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aceoflove · 6 months ago

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Love Letters from Lemoore (Husband! Bob)

Word count: 732

Warnings: None

Pronouns used: She/her

I was bored and wrote this during a road trip :)

Everybody could see the smitten look on the shy WSO’s face as he reads a letter, about three pages long. As he leans against his hand against his cheek, he turns to the next page. Her writing was so familiar and even though they call last night, he always treasured her letters, the words making his heart flutter a little more.

He had to leave is darling wife and daughter behind 5 months ago, as he was called back to ‘Top Gun’ and his heart ached to see them again. But he must be strong, and do his job, as much as it hurts his heart. They try to call as often as they can, so he isn’t absent from their lives, but he always looked forward to her letters, sometimes they declare her love, and other times there is a drawing from his daughter.

Across the hanger, the others watched him, intrigued by the letter in his hand.

“He’s got heart eyes.” Hangman turns to his friend Javy with a chuckle.

“I know. Maybe it’s from his girlfriend?”

His co-pilot suggests as he sees the WSO chuckle. Hangman can’t help but tilt his head, grinning at ‘Baby on Board’, always looking for a new thing to tease him about.

“She must be like 100 years old if she’s still writing letters.”

A round of chuckles is heard in the group as Bob folds up the letter, putting it in the pocket over his heart as Mav enters, calling them to attention.

“How is Grandpa doing?”

He rolls his eyes. Ever since they saw him reading the letter from his wife, Hangman insists on calling him Grandpa, since clearly it must be an old lady writing to him. Phoenix promised him they would drop it after a week or two, but after a month of teasing, he was getting sick of it.

“Fine thanks.”

Hangman’s strong hand pats him on the back as he takes another swig from his beer, taking a seat next to him. It’s a typical Friday night at the ‘Hard Deck’, all the Navy pilots and WSOs alongside other people in the town all gathering around as the juke box plays old tunes, people dancing and drinking and having fun.

He really was trying to enjoy himself, but with his little girl’s 3rd birthday in a few days, and his leave being rejected, he can’t help but feel down. He had already called his wife, apologising about 1000 times as she kept insisting it was okay. But he heard her disappointment, the way she was saying it was okay.

It had been 6 months since he had been able to see them in person, and it would take a few more months until he got approval for them to move here with him.

A low whistle escapes the man next to him.

“Babe at 10 o’clock.” He points out to all the guys and to no surprise they looked.

“I bet I could get her number in 10 minutes.” “Yeah right Bagman!”

He rolls his eyes. As much as he enjoys seeing Hangman bomb with women at the bar, today he couldn’t even look in the direction of this woman, too distracted by his own.

“You sure Hangman? She has a kid with her.”

Phoenix walks behind them, leaning against the back of Jake’s chair. As he looks up at Hangman’s face, he could see the confidence slipping, but he tries to hide it with a smirk.

“I’m sure.”

“Good cause she’s coming over here.”

Bob finally turns his head to take a quick glance at Hangman’s next victim, but he stops, almost dropping his apple cider.

With out a thought he stands up, a stupid, dopey grin growing on his face as the little girl sees him first.

“Daddy!”

She points towards Bob and the woman holding her looks up, and the family wore matching grins.

“Huh. Bob?”

He starts pushing through his coworkers and getting to his girls.

“Hi Bobby.”

His wife’s coy grin told him all he needed before he leans in and presses a soft kiss against her forehead, then taking his daughter in his arms. The world around them was drowned out as they held each other, a smitten grin on Bobs face told Hangman all he needed. But that didn’t stop Phoenix and her sass.

“For 100, she is gorgeous.”

also happy birthday to sunny the bob floyd lover

#robert bob floyd x reader #top gun bob #bob floyd x reader #bob floyd fic #bob floyd x you #bob floyd imagine #robert bob floyd #bob floyd

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thewulf · 1 year ago

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It Matters || Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Summary: Request - I was thinking of a jake x reader fic, were the reader believes her opinion doesn't matter because thats all she heard her entire childhood and once jake realizes that or she tells him he starts asking for her opinion, encouraging her to talk more and goes out his way to ask her stuff he already knows.

A/N: Shorty but a goodie. Thank you for the request!

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader

Word Count: 1,400k +

Jake stopped pushing the cart in front of him looking over the options the store had provided. When he couldn’t decide he turned to you who stood behind him waiting, “What do you think darlin’?” He asked hoping to bring you out of your thoughts you seemed to be stuck in.

You shook your head, “I don’t mind. You can pick what you want.” You gave him a reassuring smile as he looked over the boxed macaroni and cheese choices. He’d noticed it quickly but never said much about your aversion to deciding. It’s not that you couldn’t it’s that you were almost afraid to make the decision. Were you worried about making the wrong one? Were you afraid he’d be upset? Whatever it was he decided he needed to help. He didn’t want to press you but he wanted to see if he could try. So, if you couldn’t make a big decision he’d help you make smaller ones.

You watched as he grabbed two boxes before walking over to you, “I can’t decide. What do you think darlin’? White or sharp cheddar?” He held them up for you to take a look.

You shrugged, “I really don’t mind Jake.”

He smiled a touch, “But you have a preference, I know you do.”

“So do you.” You raised your eyebrows as if to challenge him. One of the things he’d quickly fallen for about you. As much as he loved how damn stubborn you were he didn’t enjoy when he was on the receiving end.

He shook his head, “Afraid I don’t sweetheart. Going to need you to decide. My brain’s fried. Mav’s got us doing all kinds of crazy shit in training.”

Your eyes lowered at him, “If I must. Let’s do the white cheddar.”

He smiled really big at that, “Now that wasn’t so hard was it darlin’?” His smirk that drove you mad, in a good way of course, came out.

“No.” You rolled your eyes before meeting his stride. Jake decided not to push any further at the store casually trying to get your opinion on things when he saw an opening. He adored everything about you and only wanted the best.

When it came time to settle in for the night you joined Jake on the couch. He scrolled through the endless catalogue of Netflix shows that seemed to going and going. He pulled you to his side right as you sat down on the couch wanting you by his side.

“Any show you want to start?” He asked without much thought. When you tensed up in his arms he knew there was something so much more than what you were letting on. Maybe it wasn’t his place to push but he truly just wanted to help.

You shook your head quickly, “Oh no, you can put on whatever you’d like.” You were watching the television and not him, so you didn’t notice the saddened look he was giving you. When the channel didn’t change for a moment to long you looked up to him.

“Why do you do that?” He asked with that same look.

Genuinely confused you just looked at him, “Do what?”

He gave you a tight squeeze knowing what he was about to do, pry into a part of your life you kept hidden for one reason or another, “You always deflect darlin’.” Short and sweet and to the point.

You creased your eyebrows in wonder, did you? You thought back on the last three months of dating him and you did exactly that. Had you always done that? You sat there in bemusement of your own account before you felt Jake’s gentle squeeze on your shoulder.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or press you sweetheart. I just want to make sure you are alright?” It came out more of a question.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just… I guess I never really realized.” You bit down on your cheek processing his words. It dawned on you just how often you did this with everybody and everything. You were passive. Allowed people to walk all over you. It’s not like you had an awful childhood either, no, not in the slightest. You were just one of six children. Fourth in line and the third daughter. You were a joy but nothing more, nothing less. You weren’t special. You didn’t stand out from any of your brothers or sisters. You got average grades and did well in a few sports you ended up dropping out of. You were just kind of there. A secondary character in everybody’s lives.

It happened over time. You never had you opinion be known. You learned from an early age it was best to just sit down and shut the hell up. That way your mother wouldn’t tell you to shush, and your father wouldn’t throw an angry glare in your direction. It wasn’t just you they did this too. No, your entire family felt the ire of your parents desire. They wanted you to look the part of the happy little perfect family for all the pretentious faces of your city to see. That’s why you didn’t think anything of it. Your brothers and sisters were treated the same way. You weren’t really allowed to have an opinion on things. The concept felt eerily foreign to you.

To make matters worse you followed your father’s footsteps right into the military. The second you turned eighteen you enlisted in the Navy. You weren’t really allowed to have an opinion in this line of work too. It was best to do as you did before, sit down and shut up. Take the orders, do the job, and move on. That’s what you were good at. It’s like your father had trained you from a young age to act a certain way. But the curse turned to a blessing once you met Jake in flight school. You’d been fast friends for a long two years before he decided to make a move on you after the mission at Top Gun. He realized life was short and took the leap. And you were sure glad he did. You’d loved him from the moment you met him. You’d take him as friend or a lover. And you were rather thankful it was the former.

“Really?” He asked pressing his luck just a little further.

You nodded, “My father is military too. We were raised a certain way… very strict. We weren’t exactly allowed to voice our thoughts.” Not elaborating any further you tore your eyes away feeling a flush of embarrassment rip right on through you.

“You know that’s not right? It’s okay to have an opinion. I want you to have opinions! I want to make you happy.” You felt him wrap his arm around you waist giving it a gentle squeeze for some form of comfort.

“I just didn’t think it mattered. My voice never mattered.” You whispered feeling awfully vulnerable as his eyes bore into your side.

He answered quickly, “It matters. Darlin’ your voice matters so much, okay?”

“Okay.” You nodded, “I can’t… I can’t guarantee I’ll be perfect though Jake. I’ve never had a say. It’s always been told to me. I’m so sorry.”

He grabbed your chin and gently lifted it to look at him. It was agonizing to watch the inner turmoil from your head play out in front of him, “Please don’t apologize. I understand. And if I don’t I’ll try too. I want you to know how much I love you darlin’. I care about what you think. I want to get and do things that make you happy too.”

Your eyes went wide just as his did, “You love me?” He’d never said it out loud before, but he’d loved you for a long time, long before you’d been dating.

“I do.” He nodded knowing he wasn’t going to back out of it. He’d refrained from saying it so he wouldn’t scare you away really. He would’ve told you the night of your first date had he known you wouldn’t have run away. But he knew you. Knew how timid you could be about relationships and feelings. He’d watch you from afar as you tiptoed around these kinds of things in the past.

“That’s good.” You nodded not letting your eyes break from his.

You felt a rumble from his chest and heard a laugh bubble up, “Is that so?”

“Yeah.” You grinned.

“And why’s that?” He pressed as his lips inched closer to yours.

“Because I love you too.” It was almost silent as closed the distance between the two of you. The kiss was different. A little more passionate. Filled with a touch more understanding. He smiled when he pulled back studying your sweet face. He’d successfully knocked another block down from the wall that was slowly crumbling down at his efforts.

Jake Seresin/Top Gun: Permanent Taglist (Message me or comment below if you want to be added!): @loving-and-dreaming @kmc1989 @memeorydotcom @matisse556 @buckylov3r @taygrls @ah-blossom @hardballoonlove @rosiahills22 @djs8891 @mamachasesmayhem

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tip-top-cloud-surfer · 1 year ago

Text

The Danger Zone (Part 20) - Hangman

Pairing: Hangman / Fem!Bradshaw!Reader | OC

Word Count: 3.8k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ ONLY.

Warnings: Unplanned Pregnancy; Military Inaccuracies; Medical Inaccuracies; Crying; Angst; Family Drama; Deployments; Use of "You," No Use of Y/N, No Set Physical Description

Summary: You go into labor.

Series Master List

Master List

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Penny cooed, grabbing your hand and giving it a squeeze. Wiping your tears, she gently touched your shoulder so that you would look at her. “It’s going to be okay. I know it’s scary, but your daughter is coming, and you'll finally get to meet her.”

“But she’s early. She’s not supposed to come yet. She’s still got at least another week,” you whimpered, clutching your bump protectively as more tears streamed down your cheeks. “And Jake’s not here yet.”

“I know, he's not," Penny replied softly, trying to calm you.

"And I can't do it without him!"

"Honey, we need to go to the hospital right now." Penny was still soft with her voice, but there was an edge of force there too. "Your water broke. So, we have to go. Okay?" And though you were still crying, you didn't fight Penny as she led you back to your bedroom. "Come on, let's get you into some clean clothes and then we'll go."

Penny gave Maverick a look before closing the door behind her. He moved to grab a mop and clean up the fluid. Hastily pulling out his phone, Maverick pressed on Bradley's name before balancing his phone between his ear and shoulder.

“Hey, Mav, what’s up?” Rooster asked, picking up on the third ring.

“Has Jake landed at base yet?”

“No, I think he’s still a few hours out. Why?”

“Her water just broke.”

“Are you shitting me?” Rooster questioned quietly.

“No, I’m not. And she’s already upset and crying. Penny’s getting her ready for the hospital."

"Has she mentioned him?"

"She said that she can't do it without him."

"Jesus Christ."

"Check with Cyclone about Jake.”

“I’ll go now and call you back.”

“Alright, I’m going to be driving them to the hospital.” Maverick glanced at your bedroom before turning back to his conversation with Rooster. “Penny's taking care of her."

"I'll try my best to get him there as soon as possible."

Maverick hung up the call and turned to see Penny leading you out of your bedroom. He jogged over and grabbed the hospital bag before standing on your other side. You were still silently crying but didn’t fight them as they pulled you out to the car.

“I’ll move the car seat to the back for now," Maverick stated, pulling it out and putting it in the trunk.

Penny got you situated in the backseat before climbing into the back on the other side. Maverick closed the trunk and ran around to start the car. You leaned back in your seat and closed your eyes as tears streamed down your cheeks. Penny rubbed your back as Maverick pulled out of the driveway and headed for the hospital.

"You're going to be okay," Penny assured you, giving your hand a squeeze. "Just focus on your breathing."

“Traffic is horrible,” Maverick cursed, taking a right down a side road.

“They’re doing all of that construction,” Penny sighed, turning to you as you let out a whimper. Timing your contraction, Penny held your hand. “We’ll get you there soon.”

"Why couldn't she wait?" you whimpered, staring down at your bump. "Why does she have to come now? When he's not here."

"Babies come when they're ready, not when it's convenient," Penny replied softly, rubbing your arm.

Maverick glanced back in the mirror at you and his heart broke at how defeated you looked. All he could do was hope that the baby wasn’t in a rush and that Jake would land soon.

“I need Jake,” you cried, causing Penny to hug you tighter into her side. "I need him. I can't do it, Penny."

“You can do it, Honey. It's going to be alright. Jake will be home soon, and he'll be right at your side as soon as he can."

“It’s not fair,” you sobbed, causing Maverick’s jaw to lock into place. “It’s not fair.”

~~~~~

Rooster strode through the halls of NAS North Island with a determined look. He shared a short conversation with Cyclone’s secretary before hurriedly knocking on the door. Cyclone called for him to enter and Rooster stepped inside. Giving Cyclone a half-assed greeting, Rooster didn’t pause until he was standing in front of Cyclone’s desk.

“What’s wrong, Rooster?”

“How far away is Hangman?”

“About two hours as a guess. Why?” Cyclone asked, leaning forward.

“My sister’s water broke. She’s on her way to the hospital right now,” Rooster explained quietly, tension radiating off of him. “And I’m trying to figure out if her husband’s going to be there for her or not.”

Cyclone nodded and turned to his computer. Typing in some quick commands, he turned back to Rooster.

“His ETA is a little less than three hours.”

“Three hours?” Rooster repeated dejectedly. It was clearly not the answer that he was hoping for.

“Is she progressing quickly?”

“I don’t know. I’m still waiting for Maverick to call me.”

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing else we can do to get him here earlier. But you have clearance to be there waiting for him. I’ll have him dismissed immediately, given the circumstances.”

“Thank you, sir.”

~~~~~

You were led to a wheelchair and slowly sat down. Maverick quickly pushed you into the hospital. Penny ran alongside the two of you and held the door open. You were immediately admitted, and Maverick and Penny waited out in the hall while you were assessed.

“Rooster says that Jake is three hours out,” Maverick sighed, causing Penny to nod slowly. “Cyclone’s dismissing him as soon as he arrives. Rooster is going to bring him here. I just hope that the traffic isn’t too bad, and this kid isn't in a rush.”

"I'm worried about her, Pete," Penny stated quietly, resting her hand on her chest. "She hasn't been herself for weeks."

"I know," Maverick sighed, rubbing his face. "I don't know what to do. If we tell her that he's coming, she might get better, but if she has to deliver the baby sooner, she's going to fight it. And if we don't tell her, and Jake gets here after the baby's born, I'll feel like I betrayed her."

"Let's not jump to decisions right now," Penny replied, causing Maverick to nod. "Let's just wait and talk to the doctor and see how she's doing."

When the doctor stepped out of the room, Penny and Maverick quickly turned to her. She walked over and greeted them before getting straight to business.

"She's about five centimeters dilated now. Her blood pressure is a little high, but we're monitoring it. The baby is healthy. After talking with her, it sounds like she was in early labor since yesterday evening." Penny and Maverick shared a look before turning back to the doctor. "I'm assuming that she didn't tell you?"

"No, she didn't," Maverick stated, resting his hands on his hips.

"Has she expressed any fear of labor to you or anyone else?"

"Not exactly."

"Her husband is deployed," Penny explained quietly. "She hasn't really been herself since he left and we're worried that she's going to try and fight labor because he's not here."

"I see," the doctor replied, nodding slowly.

"He's coming home today, but we didn't tell her before her water broke. We're worried about telling her now."

"How far away is he?"

"A little more than two hours probably," Maverick stated, causing the doctor to pause for a moment.

"How fast is she progressing?"

"She'll deliver in a few hours, if she keeps going as she is now."

"A few hours?"

"Somewhere between three to five, I would guess."

"Shit," Maverick sighed, rubbing his face again.

"Can I check on her?" Penny asked, causing the doctor to nod and walk off. Turning to Maverick, she squeezed his shoulder, knowing that he was going to run off and try and get Jake here sooner. "Get him here, Pete."

"Just keep her as calm as you can. And if the baby has to come, the baby has to come."

They shared a quick kiss before heading to their separate missions. You were laying on your hospital bed on your side, clutching something to your chest. There were several monitors hooked up to you and Penny walked around the bed.

"How're you doing?" Penny asked softly, brushing her hand down your back.

She paused when she looked down and saw that you were clutching one of Jake's shirts. Your nose was buried in the fabric, and you were clearly trying to soothe yourself with it.

"She's coming," you replied quietly.

"She is," Penny agreed, nodding slowly. "It'll be alright."

You didn't respond and simply closed your eyes and held Jake's shirt to your chest as you tried to regulate your breathing.

~~~~~

Jake stared out at the wide blue sky in front of him. Trying to not get antsy and pull a Hangman, as Rooster would have said, Jake took a breath. Glancing at the photo of the two of you as you held up a picture of your ultrasound, Jake nodded to himself before turning forward once again.

“I’m coming home, Honey. Just a little longer.”

~~~~~

You stared at the ceiling as the nurse walked off. It seemed that your daughter would be arriving in a few short hours. Resting your hands on your bump, you simply sat there, staring blankly ahead.

“We haven’t even picked a name yet,” you told Penny softly. “We couldn’t decide on one.”

“What about a middle name?”

“Caroline. For my mom.”

"Of course," Penny stated, watching your expression worriedly. "But don't worry about her name right now. It's a big decision. And there's nothing wrong with thinking carefully about it."

“How did you decide on Amelia?”

“Amelia Earhart,” Penny stated, causing you to raise an eyebrow.

“I thought your ex was a sailor?”

“He is, yeah.”

The two of you shared a small smile and laugh. But as the humor faded and you were left with the realization that Jake wouldn't be there to name your daughter with you, you worked yourself up all over again.

“I don’t want to have to name her without him,” you whispered, your voice breaking again.

Penny got up and pulled you in for a hug, whispering soft words as you let more tears fall. You took in a shaky breath and curled against her chest, already emotionally drained.

“He should be here. He should get to be here. He wanted to be here.”

Penny rocked you gently and stared out the window, hoping that she would see the Bronco driving down the road towards the hospital. Giving you another squeeze, she held you by your shoulders and offered you a reassuring motherly smile.

“He loves you. And he loves your baby. And I know that he’s going to come home to you as soon as he can.”

~~~~~

Rooster paced anxiously as Hondo stood behind him, keeping an ear to the radios. Jake’s plane was due soon and Rooster wasn’t able to sit still with the knowledge that your labor was progressing quickly. Holding his hand to his chin, Rooster kept his gaze to the ground and his feet constantly moving to occupy himself.

“They’re starting the landing sequences now,” Hondo told Rooster.

He turned and stared at the approaching planes. Holding himself back until he knew that it was safe to approach, Rooster strode forward with the ground crew. And then he started running when he spotted Hangman climbing out of his plane.

“Hangman!” he yelled, causing Jake to pick his head up sharply. “Let’s go!”

Jake jumped down the ladder, hearing the urgency in Bradley’s voice, and hurried over.

“What’s wrong?” Jake yelled, reaching Bradley quickly.

“Her water broke. She’s in labor,” Rooster told him as they both ran, causing Jake to freeze for a second.

“She’s not due for another week and half!”

“Take it up with your daughter! And get your ass in gear!”

~~~~~

“Fuck, it hurts,” you sobbed, rocking your hips as you buried your face in your arms.

You were bent over the hospital bed as your contractions grew more intense. You felt like you could barely stand when your contractions hit now, which only meant that your daughter was even closer to being born. Letting out another whine of pain, your grip tightened on the bed.

“Breathe. You’re doing so well,” Penny coached you, helping you rock your hips. “You're doing amazing."

Penny helped you straighten up as the contraction ended. You took a moment to steady yourself and let the pain subside. Penny pulled out her phone when she felt it buzz and saw Maverick’s text. She read through it quickly before moving to help you again.

She didn’t speak, knowing that you were trying to focus. But Jake was coming. He was on his way. He was coming to be here for the birth of your daughter.

~~~~~

“This is your definition of a short cut!?” Jake complained loudly.

With the heavy traffic built up in front of them, Jake held his hands to his face and let out a groan of frustration. With the highway a disaster due to construction, they decided to take back roads. But so did everyone else. They had been stuck at this same light for two full rotations and Jake felt like he was going to scream. Actually, he was already screaming.

“I told you that you should have taken a left!”

“It was impossible!” Bradley snapped back, focused forward.

“Then let me drive!”

“So that you can get us into an accident!? No!”

Jake tugged at his hair, trying to keep calm. But he was rapidly failing. You were only a few miles away, in labor with your daughter, and he came all of this way, and he was still going to miss it. Because of stupid traffic.

“Move!” Jake and Bradley yelled as soon as the light turned green.

~~~~~

Closing your eyes, you breathed in and out as you listened to soothing music, trying to prepare yourself for the next part.

“Everything looks good,” your nurse told Penny, who smiled and nodded in thanks.

Penny walked around to the side of the bed that you were facing, and her expression softened when she saw that you were cuddling one of Jake’s shirts again, trying to soothe yourself with the lingering scent. Looking out the window, she sighed.

“Get here quickly, Seresin.”

~~~~~

“Should I just run at this point!?” Jake yelled, sitting up in his seat.

“It’s five miles!”

“I’ve run further!”

“This is still faster,” Bradley countered, causing Jake to huff and hold his head in his hands.

“I can’t just sit here like a useless asshole while she has our baby!”

“I’m not asking you to just sit there! Just calm down!"

“Would you be calm if our positions were reversed!?”

“On the outside, yes.”

“Bullshit!”

“It’s not bullshit!”

While Jake and Bradley continued to bicker, a Kawasaki pulled up alongside them. Maverick looked into the Bronco and frowned when he saw Bradley and Jake arguing, completely ignoring him. He revved the engine, but it didn’t seem to get their attention.

“Jake!”

“We should have just stayed on the highway!” Jake argued loudly.

“Bradley!”

“I’m trying the best that I can! Why don’t you try navigating for once!?” Bradley yelled back.

“Hello!?”

Getting off of his bike, Maverick stalked forward and banged his fist on the glass, causing Jake and Bradley to finally turn to him. Bradley lowered the window down as Maverick shot them both a look.

“Are you two finished?”

Jake hopped out of the Bronco got onto the back of the Kawasaki without another word. Maverick sped down the street, weaving in and out of traffic, and heading straight for the hospital.

~~~~~

Penny squeezed your hand when she noticed how terrified you were. Your daughter was coming into the world shortly whether you were ready for her or not.

“I can't do this,” you whispered shakily. “She can’t be coming now. I’m not ready. I can’t do it.”

“Of course, you can do it.”

“No, I can’t! I can’t do it!” you sobbed, looking absolutely stricken with fear. “I want to go home, Penny! I can’t do this!”

“Yes, you can,” Penny replied more firmly. “Hey, you’ve been preparing for this moment your whole pregnancy. You took the class, read the books, and you made a plan. You’re ready to do this. You can do this. You’re stronger than you think.”

“She can come another day.”

“No, she can’t. She’s coming today. And I know that’s scary. Believe me, I was terrified when I was in your position. But then Amelia was born, and all of that fear and pain disappeared. Because I had my beautiful daughter in my arms. And you’ll get that moment too. And I’ll be here with you for it, okay?”

“She better not have his big fat head," you cried out.

~~~~~

Jake jumped off the Kawasaki and ran into the hospital. Maverick had informed the front desk people about the situation, and they quickly got him checked into the ward.

Rushing down the hall, Jake weaved in between nurses, patients, and family members, searching for your room number. Penny stepped out of your room and waved for him.

Jake hurried the rest of the way down the hall. You sat up on your head, confused at why Penny rushed to the door. But when your husband appeared out of seemingly nowhere, still in his flight suit, you couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Jake!"

He rushed to your side and pulled you in for a hug. You latched onto your husband, sobbing tears of relief and joy as he pressed a series of kisses to your head. Turning his head, Jake gave you a soft and loving kiss before pulling back and resting his head against your own.

"You're here," you breathed out, cupping his cheeks with your hands. Like you weren't convinced that he was real.

"I'm here," he assured you. "I thought that I would surprise you. But it looks like Baby Girl surprised us first."

"She is your daughter, after all."

Penny smiled at the interaction and looked down the hall to see Maverick walking over with a bag for Jake. He stood beside Penny as you and Jake talked softly, sharing a kiss every few seconds.

"I think I'll just leave this on the chair," Maverick joked, causing Penny to smack him lightly on the chest.

"He made it?" the nurse asked, looking into your room.

"He made it."

Jake reluctantly left your side for a moment to change out of his flight suit and take a quick shower to get the smell of jet fuel and sweat off of him before returning to your side. Maverick and Penny said their goodbyes before you and Jake were left alone.

Your contractions were growing more intense and closer together and not even fifteen minutes after Jake arrived, your nurse assessed you one last time.

"I'm going to get the doctor. You're fully dilated."

Jake squeezed your hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it as the nurse hurried off. More people started to walk into the room to get you prepped for delivery, but your eyes never left Jake. He leaned over a pressed a kiss to your forehead.

"She's coming," you breathed out, holding tightly to your husband.

"She is," Jake agreed, trying to keep his voice level. "And I'm here for you through the whole thing, alright? You let me know what you need me to do and I'll be there."

"I know, Jake," you replied, smiling nervously. "I love you."

"I love you too," Jake stated, pressing a kiss to your wedding band. "Let's meet our daughter."

~~~~~

In the waiting area, your family sat around anxiously for news about you and the baby. They were all lounging around, guessing about your status, when the nursery tune played overhead.

“You think that was them?” Maverick asked Penny.

“It could be. We'll have to wait a little longer to find out.”

~~~~~

"She's here!"

You let out a choked sob, leaning back against the hospital bed as the doctor lifted your daughter up so that you could see her. Jake stood, frozen, as the doctor placed your daughter down on your chest for some skin to skin.

Cuddling your daughter, who was still screaming at the top of her lungs, you laughed incredulously, tears blurring your vision. You held her little head to your cheek, turning to Jake with the most lovestruck expression he had ever seen.

Jake, breaking out of his frozen state, slowly straightened up and pressed a kiss to your lips. You smiled up at him before turning back to your daughter.

“She’s here,” you croaked out, laughing incredulously. “Holy shit, she’s actually here.”

“You did amazing,” Jake praised you, staring down at your daughter with a sense of awe. “She’s . . . she’s so beautiful.” Pressing another shaky kiss to your head, he added, "She’s perfect.”

The next few minutes was a bit of a haze, but soon enough, you were cuddling your daughter to your chest again. Resting your hand on her back and keeping her secure, you smiled to yourself and took in the moment. You looked up at Jake, and smiled, almost feeling like you were on cloud nine.

"Do you want to hold her?" you asked softly.

"Of course, I want to hold her. But did you want more time with her?"

"Just hold your daughter, Jake."

Jake sat down in a chair and a nurse brought your daughter over to him. He took off his shirt and accepted your daughter into his arms. The nurse gave him some quick instructions before stepping back to give the two of them their first moment together. You smiled as you watched them from your bed.

"Hi, sweetheart," he breathed out softly, not wanting to startle her. Gently running his finger through her short hair, Jake sniffled as he felt her move against him. "I can't believe you're finally here." Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he held his head there for a moment. "I love you so much, sweetheart. And I promise you that I'll tell you that every day that I have."

Your daughter stuck her tongue out at him, causing Jake to smile to himself, before turning back to you.

“I guess it’s not just the two of us anymore,” he stated softly.

“No,” you agreed, looking down at your daughter. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

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missmarveledsblog · 10 months ago

Text

Flumpy part one ( jake seresin x reader )

SUMMARY: The dagger squad all were wondering who the mysterious figure was in one of the rooms in the base only to discover to bradley's explaining it was pete maverick mitchell's kid with out seeing them fully before leaving jake makes a comment he will in future regret . y/n doesn't let the man off light with the comment either .

warning : enemies to lovers kinda , straight up self indulgent writing so soz slight comedic feel although that just my opinion ( sorry)

They gather in a curious bundle , looking in a the figure Head down on table large hood covering everything from head up as they tried to figure who it was that was well they hope was a sleep since the said figure hasn't moved .

" you sure they're alive they literally haven't moved in what ten minutes or more" one whispered.

" they allowed to be in here i mean what if its a civilian" another gulped.

" i mean they could be a bum" the tall blonde mused.

" hey what you standing around for" roosters head tilted looking at his squad members.

" there's a possible dead bum or civilian in there or dead civilian bum" fanboy looked into the room eye widening at such a possibility. Only bradley knew , his lips twitched in amusement at his friends assumption .

" nah that just mavs kid , must of fell asleep waiting" he explained as they looked more.

" jesus who would of thought mavs offspring would be flumpy there" jake grimaced .

" flumpy what are you twelve" phoenix rolled her eyes only for the figure to scoff.

" cyclone is looking for you bagman" rooster cleared his throat remembering why he was there in first place .

"Course he is needs a real man's help huh , see yall , bye flumpy" he called loudly as the figure head started to rise .

A quick nod to Pete as he passed yet their eyes all focused as the figure yawned and stretched out . Pulling the hood down to reveal the figure was a woman , a beautiful woman at that.

" hey kiddo sorry I got held up you ready" Mav smiled as she stood stretching aching muscle .

" ready as i'll ever be plus don't worry about it i got some z's"she smiled only seeing a group of new faces well not exactly new but in person new. " oh shit did you guys need the room , bradshaw you told me it was free" she glared at the man a comical sight giving their size difference.

" pretty girl you should of just went back to my place if you were tired... not like that you filthy people she like a sister to me" .

" i wouldn't be so tired if i had slept on way here but no someone a singing driver , i wanted to kick you in your great balls of fire" she grumbled.

" stop being so mean i gave you my hoody when you were cold little shit" he shot back .

" do i need to put you kids in time out" mav asked.

" you going hard deck tonight" bradley rolled his eyes.

" nah i need to unpack and sleep more" .

" she coming beach tomorrow since she's our new mechanic get to know you all" mav spoke up ignoring the glare she sent his way.

" beach tomorrow apparently also hi i'm Y/N" She turned holding her hand out to the group as the boys started pushing each other to be the one shake her hand only in their antic phoenix got in there .

" natasha trace but you can call me nat or phoenix" she smiled proudly getting their first.

"Well nice to meet you i already know who you all are from the glowing reviews i got from the two old men there" she chuckled shaking their hands.

" so where were stationed before here?" fanboy bashful spoke up goofy grin as she looked at him.

" oh i'm not in any form of military i got clearance and a civilian contract life of a navy nepo baby" . " come on we show her around the hangar" mav called all following behind .

She didn't need to see the hangar not when she been in it a billion times before during her childhood . following in the footstep of her mom charlie blackwood being a civilian contractor was a little surreal maybe because rooster was also there it was like they were the new generation . both legendary parents but she couldn't take the extra steps trying to be in her dad's shadow,that would of never worked although it seemed anything that could fly was a great love must of been genetics in this case.

" well as i live and breathe y/n it good to have you on board" she turned to see admiral beau simpson sauntering over towards her .

" admiral nice to see you again" she nodded politely not little how the man was looking at her .

" pleasure is all mine sweetheart if i'd known you'd be here i would of gave you the private tour" he almost purred as her own face scrunched up.

" i got her plus i need her check out phoenix jet for the test runs on monday so she's a little busy at the moment admiral" pete mitchell stood in front of her easily also not liking the way the older man was looking at his daughter.

" phoenix could you show me the way please oh admiral tell that darling wife of yours i say hi" she walked of linking arms with the female aviator .

" would that be all sir" rooster asked . " yes erm i forgot i got a meeting , rooster i got hangman in the end" he said making a slightly quicker exit.

" so what's the problem or did my dad make it up" she asked looking at the jet itching to get working .

" sort of shaky on the landing and steering is a bit stiff it can wait til monday really i think your dad just used.. And she gone" she watched the new woman in the hanger climbing up to assess everything out.

" i shouldn't of said anything" mav laughed knowing what his daughter was like.

" roo here" she called pulling the hoodie off only to hear metal clanging . " oh this place never changes" she shook her head seeing the men looking at her in awe.

It seemed as though everyone in the base had a reason to be in the hanger that morning , some excuses were almost believable others not so much when a recruit handed rooster a stapler insisting they needed it for any reason .

" nice to have a fellow female in her really was being a meat fest and don't even getting started on the pissing contest some of these guys can have"nat called .

" definitely hasn't change" y/n shook her head . " i mean between rooster and hangmans ego's then moment their on the ground best friends it's whiplash at best" .

" hangman? Blonde guy wonder if he's the one that called me flumpy" she mused with a giggle .

" you heard that huh?" .

" loud and clear what an asshole" she checking thing over before moving on to next part.

" i'm sure he'll take it back when he see's you" nat whispered almost reveling to see hangman's reaction to it all .

" hey need help" the guys called.

" nope it's all good i'm actually finished but thank you" she climbed down covered in grease and oil but she didn't mind .

" please come the hard deck so i can get you drink fixing my baby" nat smiled hopefully.

" no can do i need a shower , nap and unpack but i will see you all at beach tomorrow right" she asked all nodding away eagerly.

" you ever play dogfight football" bob asked slightly surprised at his own bravery to talk to the pretty lady .

" oh i'm not even attempting to play that i got a book with my name on it while you guys get all sweaty also stealing nat so i'm not on my own" she smirked .

" i'm fine with that" nat high fived her whilst sticking her tongue out at the others .

"come on you we get you home" maverick lead her out.

" no one tell hangman" was all nat said once they were gone all silently agreeing wanting to see hangman's reaction to the real flumpy .

The moment he stepped on base all he heard was his fellow officers gossiping like little girls usually he would of rolled his eyes and scoffed at the immaturity but jake seresin was always a sucker for pretty face and now he was full fledged curious .

" i think she'll be at hard deck i hope she is" he heard passing by yale . smiling like cat got the cream knowing it was no contest to who was going to get the girl .

" well look who finally showed his face , mav just left that long ago needing to drop his kid home" nat said almost too sweetly although his mind was elsewhere.

" great flumpy's gone anyways you guys heard or seen the smoke show , how true to the scale is she hot" he asked .

" lava like burn through anything hot" Javy spilled out as rooster tried not to react .

" well i guess i'll know later when i'm buying her a drink tonight i'll let you know how hot she is tomorrow though" he winked heading into the locker rooms.

" who's gonna break it to him" payback asked.

" no one dare say a word think of it as my christmas present" nat rubbed her hands together all heading to get changed and ready to have a few drinks after long day .

It was safe to say jake was annoyed the next morning , the mysterious hotty never showed at the bar so he couldn't brag like he wanted which in turn had the gang busting his balls for the forward assumption . it didn't help they were doing it all way to the beach or when he was helping set up the table for the food that was coming but he also had to listen to hear how cool mavericks offspring was maybe he was wrong about the dude or whatever then he start thinking flumpy was why the hot girl was there since they both showed up on same day which irritated him a little more then he cared to think . when he saw the hottest girl he'd ever seen like show stopping hot walk on the beach maybe he could get over the whole thing by getting her. He wasn't going to just go over no he pretend to throw rooster the ball only for it to land right near the woman . " don't worry i'll get it" he winked and strolled over so cocky and confident . sunglasses hid how his eyes raked over her the sundress that hugged her body like a damn glove , like it was made for her and her only . how her hair flowed messily down her back or how it fell to the front as she picked up the ball . " sorry ma'am my friend there can't seem to catch a ball" he stood a little taller , tensed his muscle a little knowing the ladies loved it. She looked over at rooster eyebrows raised before throwing the ball to him.

" looks like he's not so bad at all" she said walking with her towel under her arms ready to set it up .

" or maybe he wanted to impress you" jake followed .

" or you got a shit throw" she said placing her things down placing the towel on the warm sand before pulling the sundress over her head to reveal the red bikini that sat under it .

" hey kid you wanna help penny carry down the food before you get all comfortable" mav called

. " sure thing old man" she walked off leaving jake coming to a horrible realisation.

" was that?" he asked his fellow squad members.

" flumpy" the all called back" with shit eating grins .

"oh and hangman she heard you say it" nat cackled as his face completely dropped .

With the bragging right now and truly down the toilet giving as she wouldn't even look so much as his direction although . hell it seemed baby on board was in with more of a shot then he was. He was also now a fan of don't judge the book without fully seen cover that was his first mistake. Damn the cover was just his style that was for sure.

" just give up hangman , she not into you , you've ruined your chance" payback smirked as they began loading their plates .

" oh don't you worry boys i will have her eating out palm of hand and sweating for more" he laughed only they we're not laughing .

" man shh" javy whispered eyes darting behind the texan.

" what you know it i will have her riding me like a bull at a rodeo by the nights end" only instead of continuing a clearing of a throat .

" excuse me" she pushed past loading her own plate.

" darling how much of that did you hear" he winced .

" enough you tell you that i'd rather starve then eat from palm of your hand and walk to china the ride in your rodeo cowboy" she scoffed walking off sitting down on her towel picking up her book and completely ignoring the fact that jake seresin existed . which only to his torture while he was playing pool she was chatting away to some of the guys at the bar. He watched as the fawned and flirted with her , dropping their best lines while she let them think she was lapping it up , oh she was good he would give her that.

" your not gonna give up are you" coyote asked .

" not by long shot" jake smirked potting his winning ball .

Part two

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sunnystrwbry · 2 months ago

Text

Sympathy for the Devil (Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Pilot!OC)

For as long as Carly “Devil” Spencer and Jake “Hangman” Seresin have known each other, they haven’t gotten along. What happens when Carly, a pilot notorious for her vengeance in the sky is sent on a suicide mission? How will it affect her and her team? How will it affect the man who has been hiding his feelings for her since they met?

Warnings: Suicidal themes, violence, language, injury descriptions, captivity, torture

4 Chapters - 11k Words

This floats between second and third person point of view, it’s almost a reader insert. Apologies for any inaccuracies and mistakes in advance. This is my first fic!

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Chapter 1

Carly Spencer carried her duffle bag across the hot tarmac of the military base runway. She was on her way to San Diego from where she’d been stationed in Afghanistan for the past year. Being a fighter pilot almost guaranteed moving to different countries and bases multiple times a year, but this move was different. She’d received the order to go back to Top Gun along with some other pilots to prepare for a mission.

She wondered who else would be training for this mission with her, and what kind of mission it would be. Probably nothing good considering the callback of multiple pilots to Top Gun.

The flight out of Afghanistan was cutting it extremely close to when you needed to be at the base, but finally the plane landed in San Diego. Everyone else was already gathered in the hangar and seated to listen to Maverick teach about the mission. You immediately recognized many of the pilots in the room. Rooster, Phoenix, Payback, and Hangman. You hadn’t seen Hangman since the assignment you had before shipping out to Afghanistan. Despite his arrogant demeanor, unpredictable actions, and the fact that the two of you didn’t exactly get along, he was actually kinda charming. You didn’t want to admit it, but you really did like him. Maybe things would be different this time.

When Rooster saw you walk in, he sent a warm smile your way along with a wave. Your eyes scanned the room for an empty seat, the only one happened to be next to Hangman.

His eyes met yours as you sat down, “Man, you look like shit Spence, too hard to dress up like the rest of us huh?”

“Fuck off Seresin.” Your voice was low.

Maverick greeted everyone and his eyes landed on you, sitting there, still wearing your fatigues covered in Afghan dirt.

“Devil, nice of you to finally join us.”

“Sorry sir, flights out of Afghanistan aren’t exactly quick.”

He smiled, “Oh I’m sure they aren’t. Heard you became an ace over there, is that true?”

At that moment all eyes were on you.

“Yes sir, that’s true.” you replied.

Memories from your time in the Middle East flooded your mind. The last year you had been stationed there you’d experienced the worst of the worst. After being shot down and held captive for five days, you’d finally escaped and made the long journey back to base, the memory made you shudder, but you couldn’t think about that right now.

“Good to know my training did you well. That also means you’re the only Ace in our group, besides me of course,” Mav said, “Let’s get started.”

The objective of the mission was to take out a munitions factory just outside of Bagram. Only one jet could be sent in due to sanctions in the city limits, and the sanctions also prevented unmanned strikes. The plant is heavily guarded by anti aircraft guns, and jets were on patrol to defend it in case of an attack. It would be a dogfight on the way in and on the way out, and an unfair one at that. Maverick asked the group if they had any questions. Nobody wanted to say a word. Phoenix looked at you worriedly. This was a suicide mission.

Rooster finally spoke up, “So, uh, how do we decide which one of us is going to go?”

He had asked the question that nobody else wanted to.

Maverick took a deep breath, “One pilot from the group will be ordered to fly. One of you will be a reserve in case anything out of the ordinary happens. Now, the list with your training partners is up on the board behind me, so come take a look and head out to the tarmac.”

You let out a huff of air when you saw that your partner was Hangman.

“Aww c‘mon Devil how can you be upset when we make such a great team,” he teased.

Once everyone was on the tarmac, Mav explained your first training exercise.

“You’ll be in separate aircraft flying in a tight formation. This exercise will help you learn to trust your partners abilities.”

You and Hangman were the last ones to go.

“Hangman, moving into position,” he called out over the radio.

This exercise was incredibly simple, just fly a course in formation, what could go wrong?

“Oh fuck-,” Carly’s remark came through the radio, “Bird Strike! Bird Strike! Right engine is down, right engine is on fire! Deploying fire suppression, right engine is still burning! Dammit, there’s fire in the cockpit, I gotta bail out! Eject! Eject!” she exclaimed.

His eyes were wide, looking for her parachute as he circled back to the crash site. Finally he spotted her. She was lying next to her parachute, a few hundred yards from the remains of the jet.

“I have eyes on Devil, get medics out here asap, this is Hangman, requesting clearance to land.”

The fluorescent lights of the hospital burned into your eyes as you opened them. The surrounding room was bland, and the little beeps of the monitor beside the bed were getting annoying. You moved the blankets off of your body, checking for any injuries sustained during the crash. When you were satisfied that there were no major injuries, just a few cuts and bruises, a small burn, and a perpetual soreness. You pressed your call button, hoping that the doctors could fill you in on your condition. A doctor came into the room and said that you were okay and that your scans looked good. He also asked if you were ready to see some visitors.

“What visitors? How long have I been out?”

The doctor flipped open his chart, “Well according to this you’ve been out for about 8 hours, and there’s a guy that has been waiting to see you for a while.”

“Alright then, send him in.”

“How are you feeling?” Jake asked as he sat down in the chair beside your bed.

“Worse now that you’re here,” you laughed, then winced, “Honestly, I'm feeling alright considering I can’t remember a damn thing that happened after I ejected.”

Jake leaned back in his chair and stretched, “Well, how about I tell you while I drive you home.”

The doctor returned with your discharge papers and a set of clothes. After he disconnected your monitors and IVs you put on the sweats and T-shirt. After finding your boots in a bag with your helmet and ruined flight suit, you were ready to go home.

You walked towards his truck, and he opened your door before heading around to his. Why was he being so nice all of the sudden? Your address was already in the GPS, which was almost as confusing as him being the one to take you home instead of Bradley or Nat, but you were too tired to ask questions.

“You’re gonna have to take me back to the hangar, my keys are in my duffel.” you said.

“Your duffel’s in the back seat,” he said as he pulled out of the hospital parking lot, “Now, about what happened, you were losing altitude and the jet was on fire. You ejected, but part of your parachute was damaged because of the fire, so you had a really rough landing,” he explained.

“Damn,” you sighed.

The rest of the drive was silent, and finally Jake was pulling into the driveway in front of your little white house. You opened the back door of his truck and dug through your duffel for your phone and keys. His duffel was back there too. He grabbed the bag with your flight gear and your duffel.

“Oh I can get that,” you reached for the duffel in his hand.

“Nope, I got it, do you own this place?”

You shut the door of the truck and began walking to the front door, “Yeah, I’ve actually owned it since a little after our first time at Top Gun, the area’s just so nice, so whenever I’m not deployed I’m here.”

The door clicked open, you sure were glad to be home.

“You've got a nice place Devil, doesn’t look like hell at all,” he laughed.

“You’re such an ass.” She said only half jokingly.

The house had warm wood floors, and most of the walls were white besides some accent walls of gray blue. All of the furniture was a mix of wood and cozy fabric, and there were pictures scattered throughout. As he followed you further into the home he saw a bookshelf that was filled with models of different planes, plaques and medals from your time in the military, and right in the center was your Top Gun trophy.

“You can just set those behind the couch,” her voice carried in from the kitchen, “Are you staying with the rest of the team at that hotel?”

“Well I was until they cancelled my reservation, so I’m gonna see if Bradshaw will lend me his floor,” he laughed.

“I’ve got a guest room you can stay in if you want,” you offered as you walked back into the living room.

“That would be great, thanks Spence.”

“No problem, thanks for driving me home.”

This was his chance. His chance to redeem himself and hopefully reconcile a friendship with the woman he had fallen for and then hid his feelings for. He’d been hiding behind an especially bad attitude towards her since they met. It was the only way he could protect himself from the fact that she was too good to be with him. This mission was giving him the best chance in the worst circumstances. And maybe, just maybe he could find the courage to tell her how he really feels. “Okay, there’s towels in the closet at the end of the hall and everything else you need should be in the vanity of the guest bathroom. Just let me know if you need anything else, I’ll be in my room.”

With that you shut the door of your room. The clothes from the hospital dropped to the floor of your bathroom as you hopped in the shower, it probably wouldn’t be good for your wounds but the smell of jet fuel and dirt lingered on your skin. After exiting the shower, you started to re-dress your wounds, examining each one of them carefully. As soon as your head hit the pillow, you were out, and what felt like 5 seconds later your alarm was blaring.

Jake was ready for the day before her alarm went off, he had woken up before his own alarm and failed to go back to sleep. He had been sitting at the desk in the guest room for about an hour, and found himself reading one of the books he’d found in the desk drawer, occasionally replying to a message from Rooster. The doorbell rang and he heard her go to answer it. Now that there was no risk of waking her up, he left the room and wandered into the kitchen. Her toned frame was clad in shorts and a tank top. All of the damage from yesterday’s crash was on display, and so were her various scars and tattoos. Her hair was shorter than when he’d last seen her a little over a year ago. Now it was just long enough to grace her shoulders. She had changed so much since their first time at Top Gun years ago, but she was still absolutely stunning.

“I’m making eggs, bacon, and toast if you want any,” her voice snapped him out of his trance. She must’ve gone to the door for a grocery delivery.

“Yeah for sure, thank you.”

They sat down at the table to eat, and Jake spoke up, “So, are you still doing those engineering contracts on the side?”

“Yeah I am, been doing a lot of contract work for Lockheed Martin, helping develop new planes and such. I’m lucky that I can do that in my downtime between missions, and I can’t lie, the extra income is really nice.”

“Ever thought about doing that full time?” His question made her freeze.

She struggled to come up with an answer, “You know, I came real close about five months ago, but not now.”

With that she got up from the table and went back into her room. He didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable, but it made him question; what happened five months ago?

When she returned she was dressed in her flight suit.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“Yup, I’m drivin’ though,” she said with a smile.

Her slight southern accent was like music to his ears. He followed her into the garage, whistling when he saw her car.

“Do me a favor and don’t kill us on the way to work okay?”

She laughed, “I won’t, this car is my everything, been dreaming of it since I was a kid.”

It was a black Porsche 911 Turbo that she had gotten a few months before shipping out to Afghanistan. Even though it was almost ten years old, it was like a fighter jet for the road. She backed it out of the garage, and they sped off towards the base.

“Holy shit,” Jake breathed as he got out of the car.

“Seresin, you scream like a little girl,” you said with a laugh.

“I’m gonna have Bradley drive me back to your place tonight,” he said between heavy breaths.

“I’m gonna make sure Bradley doesn’t do that, and nobody else will either,” you teased.

He laughed, “Why would they ever do that to me?”

“Because they like me more,” you retorted as you walked into the hangar.

“Good to see you’re in one piece, Devil!” Bradley said as he walked over to greet you.

Phoenix waved her hand at you, beckoning you over to where she was sitting. Rooster gave you a quick hug and then started talking to Jake, so you went over to Nat. You’d been good friends with Bradley and Nat since you’d met them on a mission before you all ended up at Top Gun.

“What the hell is up with you and Hangman?” she asked with a raised brow.

“Nothing? We’re finally getting along that’s all.”

She glared at you, “So you’re just letting him stay at your house and driving him over here out of the kindness of your own heart?”

“Yep.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Listen Nat he’s been pretty nice since the crash yesterday and I’m not gonna be an ass just because we’ve had some disagreements in the past. I don’t want to go on this mission with regrets of how I treated people and I don’t think he does either, that’s all.” She didn’t need to know that you’d liked Jake for a while, nobody did.

“Did you tell her?” Bradley asked Jake. “No, we’re finally getting along better, I don’t want to ruin it.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to tell her eventually, but don’t worry, I’ll be your wingman.” He winked, and then started walking towards where Carly and Nat sat.

The two men sat down in front of you and Phoenix.

“Hangman, how’s stuff going with that girl you like?” Rooster asked abruptly.

“God help her.” Phoenix stifled a laugh.

“I haven’t asked her out yet, don’t want to ruin things between us.” Jake looked like he’d rather be anywhere else at the moment.

A part of you was sad about hearing that Jake liked someone, because you knew that he didn’t like you the way you liked him. You shouldn’t have fallen for him the way you did, but he was just so charming and funny and sassy, even if he was a little mean sometimes. He could have any girl he wanted, it wouldn’t be you.

“Why not just ask her out? What’s the worst that could happen?” Phoenix inquired.

Jake just sighed.

“You’ll never know how she really feels unless you ask, and yeah maybe things don’t turn out the way you want, but at least you can say you tried and move on.” You wished you could take your own advice.

Maverick came into the hangar and immediately pulled you aside into an office. He shut the door behind you, and let out a huge sigh.

“Carly, I don’t even know where to begin, I just, are you okay after yesterday?”

“Yeah I am, but that’s not what this is about is it?”

“No it’s not, I started looking over everyone’s files last night, and when I got to yours I just lost it. Hell, you’ve had 3 confirmed kills in the past year, that’s almost as many as my whole career, and then you get shot down and there’s no record of you for three weeks until you show up in the med bay at your base, and then you’re in the hospital for a month. What the hell happened, and why aren’t you retired?”

“Sir, with all due respect, I’ve only ever told one person about what happened in those few weeks and that's not about to change. The reason I haven’t retired is because this job is everything I have. I’ve got no family, just the people out there in that room,” your breathing was heavy, “What’s got you so broken up over me anyway?”

“It’s the fact that I have to send someone on that mission, and based on records alone you’re the best person to get the job done, but you shouldn’t even be here. You should be at home living your life however you want, and it kills me.”

“This is how I want to live my life Mav, you don’t need to worry about me.” With that you exited the office and sat down next to Nat once again.

She gave you a look, as did Jake and Bradley. You’d have to deal with their questions later. Maverick explained todays exercise. We would have to practice dogfighting that was one versus everyone.

“Alright, Hangman you’re dead,” Mav said over the radio, “Devil, you’re up.”

There were 6 different planes you’d need to take out to complete this exercise. You started flying, taking out the first plane in under a minute, then the second, then the third, only three left. Hangman and Maverick were on your tail, and Rooster was god knows where. You pulled up suddenly, pushing the throttle as far as it would go, inverting yourself into almost a loop. Mav split off to the right, and Hangman was in your sights, two clicks of the trigger and he was done. Now where were the last two? You looked around, and spotted them flying side by side above and ahead of you. They started to bank left, so you flew under and up at them, two more clicks and Maverick was done. You passed between the wings of his and Roosters jets. After a couple more maneuvers, you got Rooster in your sights and he was out as well.

“Congratulations, Devil.” Mav said as you hopped out of your jet.

You walked back to the hangar where everyone else was already gathered, chatter could be heard from the group, but they stopped as soon as you joined them. “Somethin’ wrong?” you asked.

“Let’s just say we’re all glad that you’re on our side.” Rooster said.

“Definitely,” Payback laughed. “So, we know you’re an ace, but how many kills do you really have?”

“Six”

“You’re fucking kidding right?” Rooster asked in disbelief.

“I’m dead serious.”

“And to think you had two when we graduated from Top Gun, that’s insane,” Rooster shook his head.

“That’s why we call her Devil, she escorts people to hell,” Hangman chimed in.

“Yeah, on one of her first training flights she and her wingman encountered a couple of enemy jets. One thing led to another and she had her first air to air kill under her belt. That’s also when we decided on her call sign,” Rooster elaborated.

You just sighed and shook your head. The group decided to go to the Hard Deck to get a few beers, and play some pool. There were only two weeks before the mission, and you couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Chapter 2

You were sat at a table with Hangman, Rooster, Phoenix, and Payback, still nursing your first beer.

“So what happened with Mav this morning?” Phoenix inquired.

“Yeah you looked pretty rattled,” Bradley said.

“He’s on my case about not being retired, says I shouldn’t even be here.”

Jake knitted his brows together, “Well is there a reason for him to think you should be retired?”

“I think it’s got something to do with my last deployment.”

“Afghanistan huh?” you nodded and after taking another sip of his beer Rooster continued, “A few weeks ago I was talking to a marine sharpshooter that had just finished his deployment there, and he told me about how he’d seen a pilot that had been shot down, and how he watched him make his way across enemy territory for about a day, said he probably never made it out of the city.”

It felt like you were back there, the worst time of your life was running through your head again and it wouldn’t stop. Every terrible moment, every little detail, all of it was still there as if it had happened yesterday. Your eyes scanned around the bar and you rubbed your index finger over your thumb; it was a nervous habit you had developed. Some pilot that you didn’t know was listening in on the conversation and decided to speak up.

“Maybe if he was a better pilot he wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place, I mean damn, it’s really not that hard to keep from getting shot down.”

If looks could kill yours would’ve. “You’re dead wrong.”

“How so sweetheart?”

You stood up from your chair, grabbing the back of it so that you didn’t do something that you’d regret.

You didn’t notice it, but Jake was immediately on edge. He was going to back you up if you needed it.

“Great pilots get shot down because they’re sent on the most dangerous missions, and despite what you might think, it is hard to not get shot down, especially when you’re dogfighting while dodging SAMs and anti-aircraft rounds in enemy airspace.”

“She’s right you know,” Jake’s eyes briefly met yours before he continued,“ you’ll change your opinion after being in a situation like that.”

His tone was condescending enough to send the guy to the other side of the bar.

“Carly you got any stories from over there?” Nat looked to where you still stood behind your chair.

“None that I’m itchin’ to tell,” you grabbed your keys from the table, “I’m gonna call it a night, we’ve got another long day tomorrow.”

Jake followed you out to the car, “Want to let me drive it?” He smirked.

“Over my dead body, Seresin.” You sighed as you got into the car.

“Thanks for having my back in there by the way, I appreciate it.” She sent a brief smile his way.

“No problem, I know you usually handle that stuff, but it just seemed like he really got under your skin.”

“Yeah,” she muttered.

Jake replayed the events of the night. That story Rooster had told had made you uncomfortable, he could tell by your eyes, you looked trapped, like you were looking for a way out. Then there was that pilot that you’d told off. He remembered what you said about your contract work that morning. Five months ago. Was she the pilot in that story Rooster was telling?

When you entered the house you headed to the kitchen, grabbed a water, and sat down on the couch. You just needed some time to gather yourself before bed, but Jake had other plans.

“That pilot in that story Bradshaw was telling, it was you wasn’t it?” His eyes flickered over the features of your face as he sat down beside you on the couch, waiting for an answer.

“Yeah,” you managed to say after a long deep breath. He just looked at you, brows slightly furrowed like he was waiting for you to elaborate. You rubbed your index finger over the top of your thumb, still unable to meet his gaze. Then you finally looked up at him, not knowing what to expect.

“I’m sorry.”

That might have been the last thing you thought he would say. You retreated to your room. The shower was hot, and your mind was trashed from the events of the day. You just hoped that Jake wouldn’t say anything to the rest of the team. Him knowing was already more than enough to deal with, and the thought of everyone knowing what happened over there, what you did, made you sick to your stomach. They would hate you if they knew, and they were all you had. You couldn’t afford lose them. You wrapped yourself in the blankets of your bed, desperately trying to fall asleep.

Jake looked up at the ceiling of the guest room. So many questions were running through his head. How’d she get shot down? How’d she manage to make it out of enemy territory alive? Why wouldn’t she tell anyone about any of it? Was she scared that it would happen again? He couldn’t process how you could risk going through that again on this upcoming mission. Then there was the fact that there’s a lot more to the story of what happened to you than anyone knows. She just bottles it up and deals with it on her own? That’s not healthy. He was getting a headache from just the little bit that he knew. Living through the whole thing would be hell. He just wished he could help you somehow; seeing you in distress was not something he enjoyed. With a yawn he turned off the bedside lamp and adjusted the covers, he needed to get some rest.

Your legs were bound to a wooden chair by ropes and your arms were tied behind your back. Your blood stained flight suit was around your waist, a tattered black shirt clung to your upper body, and your boots were no longer on your feet.

Your eyes flew open, taking in the surroundings of your bedroom. Your breaths were quick and heavy, and a few stray tears clung to your cheeks. The clock on the bedside table read 3:56. There was really no point in trying to go back to sleep when you’d need to be up in an hour anyway, so you decided to make an early run to the gym. You got dressed, filled a water bottle and returned to your bedroom to gather the rest of your things. This was the best way to de-stress after a nightmare. Fortunately this is the first time you’d had one in almost a month.

Jake woke up to the sound of footsteps in the kitchen. He could hear her filling a water bottle and grabbing her keys, but why so early? He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, neglecting to pull on a shirt and ventured out into the hallway that led to the living room. She came out of her bedroom as he reached the living room. She seemed surprised that he was awake. Her brows raised slightly and she glanced at his muscular frame, doing her best to be discreet.

“Why’re you up so early?” His voice was tired, and while he had noticed her look towards his bare torso, he didn’t mind.

“Couldn’t sleep, so I’m going to the gym. Sorry for waking you up.”

“It’s okay I’m a light sleeper, product of our line of work I think,” he softly laughed.

“You got that right,” she smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes like he was used to seeing, “I’ll see ya later.” She disappeared through the garage door and Jake sighed.

He wanted to ask her so many questions. He wanted to understand why she would put herself in a situation that was very likely to end with her being shot down over enemy territory again. He also wanted her to know that he cared about her. She was lovely. Strong, motivated, brave, funny, smart, beautiful, and caring. She was wonderful. He just wished he could tell her that without screwing up their newfound friendship. He was afraid that she didn’t feel the same way about him. And even if she did feel the same way, there was a likely chance that he would lose her. Thoughts about her continued to flood his head while he made some coffee and eggs.

At the gym Carly was de-stressing with some running and then some yoga. She thought about Jake. What would he say if he knew about the nightmare. What does he think about the Afghanistan situation? He might not know the whole story, but he didn’t need to. He could still judge her and make assumptions. What if he told their team? What if he told Maverick? God that would be bad. She might have been over the nightmare but the fact that Jake knew about what happened in Afghanistan was eating away at her.

She drove home, listening to some classic rock on the radio. Once she stepped into the house, the smell of coffee was evident. Walking into the kitchen she found half a pot that was still warm. She poured a cup and went into the living room, where she looked at the morning news on her phone. Jake had heard her come in while he was finishing getting ready for the day. He wanted to talk with her about last night. He came out into the living room and sat down beside her on the couch. Their eyes met but no words were exchanged.

A somewhat comfortable silence was broken when Jake began to speak. “So, why haven’t you told anyone about what happened over there?”

“Y'all don’t need to know about it.” Her eyes were mean, they didn’t look at him, they looked through him.

“Listen I know you’re upset and you have every right to be, but I’m worried about you, keeping all of the awful things to yourself only does more harm.”

What had gotten into him? You knew he was right about bottling up those emotions and experiences, but still couldn’t bear the thought of the judgement you might receive from him.

“Why do you care?” she snapped.

“Because you’re my friend.” The expression on his face was a mix of hurt and confusion.

It looked like he genuinely cared about your wellbeing. As much as you liked him you still didn’t trust him fully, you couldn’t risk it. Your head was down, and silent tears rolled off your cheeks and on to the front of your shirt. Jake reached over and gently squeezed your hand,

“If you ever change your mind and want to talk about anything, I’m here to listen.” He let go of your hand and got up from the couch.

After you heard the door to his room shut, you went to your own room to get ready for the day. Training continued as normal. The mission was in two weeks. Even though everyone was continuing about everything as normal, they were dreading it. Everyone decided to go get dinner together after training. You sat between Jake and Bradley, and Nat sat across from you. The food was great. Almost every conversation blurred together at the table, but there were parts of a few that you could make out. Payback was talking to Hangman about a sports team, Phoenix and Rooster were discussing different types of music and what they liked.

This dinner was great, it was so normal, relaxing even. The waitress came over and asked how the check would be split, but you said you’d cover it. All of the pilots thanked you, and everyone went their separate ways. The drive back to your house was peaceful, just what you needed after a long day.

Jake hadn’t started his drive back to her place yet. Instead he sat in his truck with Bradley in the passenger seat. “How are things going between the two of you?”

“Not bad, not great. I still have no idea how to tell her that I like her.”

“Well you better tell her before she goes on that mission.”

“We don’t even know who’s going on that mission yet, and if I can help it, it’s not going to be her.” His tone was defensive.

“We all know who’s going, on that mission. She’s the best choice I know it, Mav knows it, and you know it.”

Jake knew that he was right, but he didn’t want to believe it. “What if she doesn’t feel the same way about me? What am I gonna do if she feels the same way about me, and then she’s just gone forever?”

“You don’t want to tell her because you’re scared of losing her?”

Jake didn’t say anything, he just rested his hands on the top of the steering wheel.

“Think about it, I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that Bradley got out of the truck.

Chapter 3

You could hear Jake slide the key you’d lended him into the lock. He walked into the living room where you were sitting.

“Hey, about this morning, sorry for snappin’ at you.”

“Don’t worry about it, I just wanted you to know that I’m here for you.” he said before heading to his room.

You and Jake continued to get to know each other better over the next week. Training took up most of the day, but before and after the two of you talked about music, tv shows, and life experiences. Things were good, you hadn’t had any more nightmares, and the two of you had a lot in common. Jake enjoyed much of the same classic rock that you did, you both loved flying, and you both loved a good competition. He told you about why he’d joined the Navy, and then you told him why you’d joined. You recounted the missions you’d been on together, and what you’d been thinking while flying them. There was only a week until the mission, and only four days of training remained. The whole thing still didn’t feel real. Three weeks ago you were still in Afghanistan and still thought that Jake Seresin hated you. Now you knew he didn’t, but it was all going to end.

Today would be more practice for the bombing part of your mission. It is imperative that the bomb is dropped on the main gas supply for the plant, then the lines that ran throughout would do the rest of the work. That combined with the munitions being produced there should make sure that the plant was inoperable for the foreseeable future. The bombing practice runs were solo, and the other pilots watched from afar on the ground. Eventually everyone was able to make the drop, and it boosted everyone’s confidence in the success of the main goal of the mission.

Maverick approached you in the instruction room after training. “Devil, Admiral Kazansky has asked to see you in his office, don’t keep him waiting.”

“Yes sir.” Everyone looked at you as you left, and Rooster wished you luck.

You made your way into the Admiral’s office, and you greeted each other before he asked you to have a seat.

“Devil, it’s been a while since I saw you last, how are you doing?”

“Better since the last time we spoke.”

“Good, I wanted to talk to you and see how you were doing before the mission. Do you think you’re ready for it?”

“I have no doubt in my ability to complete the main objective of this mission.”

“I’m not questioning your ability to fly the mission, I want to know how you’re feeling about going back to Afghanistan and possibly ending up in the same situation you were in before.”

He was the only one who knew the full extent of what happened while you were over there. You were silent for a few moments, and your index finger rubbed against the back of your thumb.

“Well, honestly I hate the idea of being held captive again, but I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem this time. I’m a good pilot, I can get the mission done, and I don’t have to watch another one of my friends die. This is my job, my life, and I’m prepared to lose my life for this job, I always have been.”

The admiral just nodded. “Somehow I knew you’d say something like that. Maverick came to see me after the conversation he had with you last week.”

“Of course he did.”

“I didn’t tell him anything, only that you should be good to go on the mission, just do me a favor and try your best to make it back alive.”

“I’ll give it my best shot, sir.”

“Alright then, you’re dismissed.”

The next three days were full of more practice for the mission. Now that all of the training and practice was complete, there would be an official assignment for who would fly the mission.

“Are you ready for this?” Jake asked as he got out of your car.

“Yeah, are you?”

“Sure am.” He said with a sigh.

They walked into the hangar where everyone else was beginning to gather. Everyone was silent. The reality of the mission had been sinking in over the past two weeks, but now everyone had to face it head on. Maverick entered after a few minutes and began by giving a rundown of the mission again.

“All of you have shown great skill when training for this mission but as you know only one of you will be able to go.“

He paused, not eager to send someone on a suicide mission. Your eyes met Jake’s for a split second before Maverick continued to speak.

“Devil, you will be the pilot for this mission. Hangman I want you to fly out to Afghanistan as a reserve. Report back here on Monday at 6 AM. Take tomorrow to yourselves. The rest of you will have a new assignment by the end of the week. You’re all dismissed.”

Rooster, Hangman, Phoenix, and Payback gathered around you. Nobody knew what to say.

“Drinks at my place tonight y’all.” You smiled.

If you didn’t try to lighten the mood you’d break. You couldn’t break. The only thing you wanted to do was spend time with the people you cared about.

On the way back to your place you picked up a couple of packs of beer. Everyone arrived around 7 and hung out on the back patio near the pool. You, Rooster, and Phoenix eventually ended up in the pool. In spite of the circumstances, you were having a great time. You noticed Jake’s eyes look over your now bikini clad frame, it was safe to say that you were flattered.

“Hop in, the water’s great.” You said with a smile.

Jake just smiled back while shaking his head no.

Her friends were trying to stay positive for her sake, but the thought of losing her was getting to them. It was a stomach churning type of guilt and fear, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

Eventually the air became chilly and the gathering moved inside. She was sitting beside Jake on the couch, still wrapped in a towel while drinking her beer. Jake hadn’t said much. He had been stealing admiring glances all night, just enjoying her presence while he still could. She took notice of his atypical behavior, but knew that it was because of the upcoming mission.

The rest of the night was spent sharing stories about your life, and favorite memories with your friends. As the night ended everything was bittersweet. This was the last time you’d all be together.

Payback wished you luck before he left.

Nat pulled you into a hug for what felt like an eternity. “Good luck Spence, I’m gonna miss you. You’re my best friend, always will be.”

“I’m gonna miss you too.” Your words were paired with a sad smile.

Bradley gave you a hug as well, “Carly, thank you for being such a good friend to me. If there’s anyone that can make it back from this, it’s you.” He gave you one last hug before heading out the door.

You showered and put on some comfy clothes before you returned to the living room where Jake still sat.

“That was a nice get together.” After he spoke the two of you sat on the couch for a while, surrounded by heavy silence.

“Jake, you’ve done a really good job of keeping my secret so far, and I need you to keep the rest of it for me, at least until I’m gone.”

You just needed it off of your chest, you couldn’t die feeling like you’d forever mislead the people you cared about most. They deserved to know the truth no matter how bad it was.

“I can do that.” Jakes brows tilted together in concentration and his eyes met yours.

You’d been contemplating telling him this over the past week, it seemed like he genuinely cared about you and wanted to help. Admittedly it was still terrifying, but if there were negative consequences, you wouldn’t have to deal with them for long.

“It started out as a standard bombing mission. Three other pilots and I were targeting a small military storage facility near Bagram, and we started taking fire from enemy jets and SAMs. We had no indication that SAMs were positioned there and they took out two of our jets almost immediately. There were two SAM sites and five enemy planes, god only knows how many anti aircraft guns were firing at us. My wingman and I-,” you were already struggling to catch your breath.

“We had taken damage from the anti aircraft rounds, and were still in a dogfight with these other planes, my wingman split off to take care of the SAM sites and succeeded, but he got shot down before he could target any of the jets. I took out two jets, but with the damage to the plane it was getting harder to hold them off. I did everything I could, but it still wasn’t enough. I took another hit, and both of my engines failed, there was no way I was gonna recover, so I ejected. That was probably the worst decision I’ve ever made. Really, I should’ve stayed with that plane til’ it hit the fuckin’ ground.”

Tears were silently rolling down your face now and you didn’t have the energy to care whether Jake was judging you or not. Nothing really mattered anymore.

Her last statement broke his heart. He knew that what she went through was bad, but if in hindsight death was preferable, it had to be truly horrible. She was crying and rightfully so. He had worried earlier when she was gasping for breath, but she seemed to be breathing a little easier now. She’d lost three of her wingmen already and it seemed like the horror was just beginning. There wasn’t anything he could say, he just needed to continue to listen.

“As soon as my feet hit the ground I was being shot at. I think I landed on the outskirts of a small military training camp. Between shots I ran to cover behind some crates, but it didn’t take them long to surround me. I thought they were gonna kill me, but they just threw me in a truck and we drove for a little bit. When they took me out of the truck I could tell that we were at a bigger military complex. They put me in a cell, tied me to a chair, and started questioning me. Wanted to know what my mission was, why I was flying there. They started by hitting me, first with their hands, then with various tools they had lying around. I still wasn’t giving them anything, so they tried electrical shock, and lemme tell you that shit hurts. Then they tried drowning. They kept at it for five days. That last day they were hitting me with a baseball bat, and ended up knocking my chair over. I slipped my legs out of their restraints when they left for a break. With my legs out I went over to their table of tools and got my hands free. I used that knife to take out the guard at the end of the hall, I killed him.”

Her voice had become almost a whisper, and then she was silent. She couldn’t even look at him.

“You did what you had to do to survive. Anyone would have done the same if they were in your situation.” He said while reaching over to grasp her hand.

A safe, grounding, comforting gesture. It put her more at ease.

She continued after an extended pause,“That morning that I was up early and said I couldn’t sleep, I had a nightmare about that last day.”

“Do you have those a lot?”

“Not anymore.” There was another long pause before she spoke again.

“I took a handgun off of the guard, and ended up finding the two guys that had been beating on me all week. I shot both of them. When I got outside I could see the fence surrounding the base, and in the distance I could see the buildings of the city. I made a run for the fence and climbed over, the barbed wire at the top tore me up pretty bad, but I kept running. God I hurt so bad. Every fucking part of me hurt.” She squeezed her eyes shut, and took her hand from Jake’s, wiping away more tears from her face and neck, before digging her fingernails into her palm.

She was shivering, like she was terrified that the words she said would come true again right now.

He carefully moved closer to where she was sitting on the couch and put his hand on her upper back. To her the feeling of warmth and pressure on her back kept her from spiraling into a place she hadn’t been in a long time.

“There was an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city that I ducked into. I needed to patch myself up real bad. Thank god they hadn’t found the sewing kit I keep on me for emergencies. I slept there that night, and started moving again in the morning. Every once in a while there would be groups of Afghani soldiers that I had to avoid. About four days later three of them came into the building I was hiding in. There was a firefight. I took out one of them before my rifle ran out of ammo and was trying to get away when I got hit by a couple of bullets.”

Her fingers gently touched a scar on her leg, and then found their way to her shoulder.

“One went through my shoulder and the other went right through my thigh. I dragged myself into the buildings stairwell and shot them from there. They were wearing combat gear so I took some of that, their food, another gun, ammo, and their medical supplies. I wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t gotten that stuff. And with my leg being injured it took me a lot longer to get where I needed to go. I traveled less in that last week than I had in the first four days. Finally I made it to a US Army outpost and they took me back to my base. That was six months ago. I had to stay in the hospital for a month, took another two to get back to flying the way I was. Now I’m here.”

She had stopped crying at this point, but looked over at Jake to find silent tears rolling off of his jaw. He still had his hand on her back

Everything was piecing itself together. She didn’t want to be seen as a bad person for what she did over there, even if what she did was just so she could survive. She wanted to be the pilot to go on this mission so that none of then people she cared about had to. She had the experience. She was right for the job, but he hated it. He hated that she had to go back and risk going through the same thing again. He wished that he could trade places with her for just a moment, so that she would have a break from all that was weighing on her.

Against what his mind was telling him, he slowly pulled her into a hug. He didn’t care what she thought of him right now, it was what he needed to do.

“I’m glad that you ejected and fought your way back, because if you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten to know how great of a person you really are. You’re a brilliant pilot, and a wonderful person, and I’m sorry for how I acted towards you in the past. You didn’t deserve it, and you didn’t deserve any of what happened to you over there either. If anyone else knew about it, they wouldn’t blame you for it. Hell I don’t. It was what you had to do to stay alive.”

He was glad that she was alive, and he was very glad to have gotten to apologize for how he acted in the past.

“I thought you’d hate me.” she confessed.

She was crying again. Her face was buried in his shoulder, and her tears soaked into the fabric of his shirt. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of her chest. He didn’t hate her for what she did, and was glad that she was still here. His hand rubbed her upper back, and she began to speak again.

“I’m so sorry,” she gently pulled out of his touch.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”

She was still somewhat embarrassed of how emotional she had gotten, but he was nothing but kind and genuine. That’s the Jake she liked, maybe even loved. Most people only saw the cocky and arrogant side of him, but under that demeanor was a caring person, and she was very thankful for that.

“Are you scared that it’s gonna happen again?” His hand moved to hold hers once again.

“Yeah I am.”

Chapter 4

The next morning Carly went to meet with her lawyer and make sure her will was in place and her funeral arrangements were ready. She also went for a long drive. She went up into the mountains and then headed back down and along the coast. By the time she got back home it was dark. Jake was in the living room and greeted her when she came in. Her bag was mainly packed, but she threw a few extra things into the pockets of her flight suit. Just in case.

Jake drove them to the base the next morning, and by 6 AM they were with Maverick on a plane to Afghanistan. They landed at the base several hours later. The soldiers showed them to a room with a couple of beds, and then took Maverick to meet with their commander. She was due to start her mission in a few hours, so she headed out to the tarmac to find her jet. Jake wasn’t far behind her, he was a reserve after all. They spotted Maverick talking to the commander beside a couple of F-18 Super Hornets. The two pilots completed their pre-flight inspections, and were briefed on the mission one last time. There was only an hour until she’d take off now.

Maverick wished you good luck, and gave you a hug before heading to the command room. You approached Jake briskly and took his hand, pressing something into his palm. He looked at what you’d given him, it was the key to your Porsche.

“No Carly, I can’t.”

“Over my dead body.” Those were her words when he’d asked to drive it.

“I want you to have it, drive it for me okay?”

He just nodded.

“Thank you again for listening to me the other night. You’re a great guy Jake. That girl of yours is gonna be lucky to have you.”

“It’s you.” His voice was barely audible, but you’d heard him.

“What?” You needed to make sure your mind wasn’t playing tricks on you.

“It’s you. You’re that girl, Carly. I’ve liked you since we met, but honestly I was afraid to tell you, and I didn’t want to ruin things when we started getting along.”

You couldn’t move for a moment. He liked you too. This whole damn time he liked you too.

“Jake I’ve liked you for a long time too, I wish we would’ve told each other sooner.”

You took a step toward him, and he took one toward you. In an instant your hand was on the back of his neck, and his hands were wrapped around your waist.

Their lips came together carefully, but lovingly. Tears were streaming down both of their faces, mixing together as they moved with one another. They pulled apart so that they could breathe, but stayed in each other’s arms.

“Devil, time to go!” one of the soldiers informed you.

“Im sorry we never got to be together.” She looked up at him with tear filled eyes.

“Devil! You gotta go! Now!” The soldier yelled again. Before Jake could say anything else, she let go of his hands, and in an instant she was gone. He watched as her plane took off, and a pit formed in his stomach.

Maverick had seen their interaction from the windows of the command room. All he could do was hope that by some miracle she made it back. Jake climbed into the spare jet, and even though he was trying to hide it, he still looked very upset. Her radio transmissions could be heard throughout the command room and in Jake’s ear. There was no way to see her position, satellites weren’t in place and she would be out of radar range.

“Target is in sight, I’ve got two bandits, 10 miles south of my position. Ground defense has engaged. Target acquired, bombs away. Direct hit!”

Her comms were quiet for a moment, “Smoke in the air! Deploying flares, I’m comin’ around. Splash one! Dammit, I’ve got five more bandits, coming from the west and east-” Her radio suddenly went dead.

One of the officers came over the radio, “Her radio isn’t coming back online. We lost her.”

Jake couldn’t breathe. She was gone. She was really gone.

“Fuck,” he slammed his fist against his thigh.

“Hangman, it’s over, she completed the mission, we’re done here.” Mavericks voice strained over the radio.

There was nothing he could do. A few more minutes passed. Still nothing.

He climbed out of the jet. Once his feet hit the ground he didn’t know what to do. To say he was distraught was an understatement. If he had just told her sooner. If he had been a better pilot she wouldn’t have gone at all. If he had told her how he felt earlier, maybe things would have been different.

Jake went back to the room with your things it. He laid down on his bed and just looked at the ceiling. A clock on the wall was ticking, almost like it was teasing him. Twenty minutes ago they had shared a kiss, and now they never would again. What could’ve been was running through his head. They could’ve gotten married, had a family, shared holidays and anniversaries together. He could’ve told her he loved her.

Another ten minutes passed and Maverick entered the room. “I’m sorry it had to be her.”

Jake didn’t say a word to him. It wasn’t Mavericks fault, but he had no one else to blame. Jake shut his eyes, laid his forearm across them, and tried to find any sort of peace. He didn’t know how long he laid there before the door to the room opened again.

Jake didn’t even open his still teary eyes before his voice strained, “Maverick I swear to god-”

“Jake? Are you okay?”

He immediately sat up, almost not believing what he heard. There she was, in the doorway, looking straight at him. They met in an embrace in the middle of the room. Clinging to each other as if their lives depended on it.

“I thought you- I thought you were gone.” he let out a shaky breath.

“I’m right here, everything’s okay, we’re okay.” She smiled up at him, the most genuine smile he’d ever seen.

The two of them sat down on the bed, and she rested her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a while, just delighted in the presence of one another.

The door to the room opened again, and this time it was actually Maverick.

“Hey you two, there’s a flight back to the states leaving in an hour. Let’s go home. Oh and Carly, it’s good to have you back.” He smiled sincerely at them before making his way back down the hall.

Carly slept on Jake’s shoulder almost the whole flight back, making the trip feel significantly shorter. They arrived back in San Diego at around midnight. She suggested going to the Hard Deck for a celebratory drink, even though it would be dead on a Wednesday night. They noticed Rooster’s Bronco when they pulled into the parking lot. He’d be glad to see both of them. When they got inside they noticed Rooster sitting at the bar, along with Phoenix.

They had their backs to the door and hadn’t noticed that you or Jake had come in. You walked up behind them, Penny noticed, but didn’t say anything.

“Hope y’all poured one out for me,” you said as you laid a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Holy shit!” Rooster slid off of the bar stool to hug you.

“Oh my god!” Phoenix exclaimed. She also got up and hugged you. You stepped back towards Jake, and his arm quickly found its way back around your waist.

“No fucking way.” Nat just stared at where Jake’s hand was resting on your waist.

Rooster started laughing, “Yes way, glad you finally told her, man.” He smiled at Jake, and then at Phoenix, “That could be us y’know.”

“Keep dreaming Bradshaw.”

The four of you decided to play some pool, and eventually Maverick came in to see Penny.

“So how the hell did you guys end up like, well, like that…” Phoenix trailed off as she gestured to the two pilots, who were standing closely together beside the pool table.

“Turns out we had both liked each other for a while, but I told her how I felt right before she went on the mission.” Jake said as he moved his hand to rest on her lower back.

“The timing was really bad, but I’ve never had someone happier to see me walk into a room than he was.” She smiled while looking up at him.

The game of pool was long over and Maverick came to stand beside the table with the rest of you. “So Devil, what happened after we lost you on the radio?”

“Well the ground defense got a good hit on me after I took down the first jet, that’s when the comms went out. Pretty quickly, I took care of another. Five more were coming in fast from the east and west. The group from the east got to me first, two I shot down, one had to punch out. The two from the west arrived and I led them into the mountains. My jet took a good amount of damage, and I was almost out of ammo. I got some good hits on one and he bugged out pretty quick. The last one I couldn’t get off my tail, so I pulled up and turned hard right through a break in the mountains and then descended on the other side of this ridge. By the time he followed I was ready to take the shot. I’m just so glad I was able to make it back.”

“I think everyone else is glad you were able to make it back too.” Maverick smiled as he looked at the other pilots around you.

Jake carried their bags into the house. They were both exhausted from everything that had happened in the past two days, but they were ecstatic to be together. Jake sat her bag down behind the couch, just like he had a few weeks ago, and then started to carry his own to the guest room.

“You don’t have to sleep in there if you don’t want to,” she smirked.

He followed her into her room and they both settled under the covers. Jake had his arm around her shoulders and ran his fingers through her hair as she rested her head on his chest. She could hear his heart beating and feel every breath he took.

“I love this. I love this so damn much.” She grabbed his hand, pulling it close to her chest.

“I love you.” The words escaped his lips before he could stop them.

It was probably too soon, but it was how he felt, and there was nothing he could do about it now.

“I love you too.” She didn’t miss a beat.

Their lips came together once again, moving in perfect harmony.

He still couldn’t believe that they were together, but he was loving every second of it. Just having her close to him was incredible. They eventually fell asleep in each others arms, and woke up the same way.

“I could stay here like this for the rest of our lives,” her voice was tired.

“As much as I’d love to do that, Maverick wants us to be at the base by 9, we’re supposed to get our new assignments today.” He said as they sat up against the headboard.

With an exaggerated groan she rolled out of bed; Jake wasn’t far behind her. They stood in front of the sinks in the bathroom, and he watched as she carefully applied her mascara. She watched as he ran a comb through his hair, making it more neat than it had been when they woke up. They just admired each other’s motions, how each one was intentional.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Jake asked as he did up the last button on his uniform.

“Fruit maybe? I’m not really that hungry right now.” She seemed distracted, almost nervous.

“Everything okay?” He looked at her, brows furrowed in concern.

“All good.” Her eyes stayed put on the concealer in her hand.

Jake went into the kitchen and started laying out things for breakfast. He made a few slices of toast, and cut them into triangles like his mom used to. He put some honey and butter on top and got the blackberries, raspberries and strawberries out of the fridge. By the time he had everything on the plates Carly had come into the kitchen.

“Thanks for making breakfast, it’s really good.”

To his surprise she had cleared her plate.

“You’re welcome, but I didn’t really cook anything.” He laughed and took their plates and laid them in the sink.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He said as he leaned up against the island across from her.

“I’m worried about our new assignments, but it’s stupid cause I’ve never been worried about it before.”

Before she had even finished her sentence Jake was at her side, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders.

“Why are you worried?”

“It might keep us apart, hell, we might not see each other again, I just-” Her rambling was cut short by a gentle kiss.

Her arms reached up around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

“We’re gonna be just fine, everything is gonna work out one way or another. I promise.” his voice was ever reassuring.

When they arrived at the base Maverick was there along with Admiral Kazansky. They sat down with the other pilots who had been a part of training for the mission.

Admiral Kazansky spoke first, congratulating you on the success of the mission and then handed it over to Mav to give the new assignments. He went down the aisle, handing each pilot a file with their name on it. Everyone got one except you. Jake opened his file and his eyes darted across the page.

“Where’s yours?” He whispered

“I don’t know.” You whispered back.

The other pilots had begun to look at their own files before Admiral Kazansky commanded their attention again.

“Due to the nature of this previous mission and the exemplary skill needed to complete it, the United States Navy has decided to promote Lieutenant Carly Spencer to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.”

When he finished speaking he walked over to you with your file.

After the briefing was over the two of you stood outside the meeting room, as did the other pilots. Mav and Ice were also talking and catching up. Everyone was discussing where they were going. Technically a new assignment wasn’t classified information.

“Congratulations on the promotion.” He smiled at you, and then continued, “Where are they sending you?”

“I don’t want to look. Where are you going?”

Jake held out his hand, silently asking for your file.

You handed it over to him with a huff.

The corners of his mouth tilted up, “Pensacola, Florida. You wanna know where you’re going?”

“Just get it over with.” She huffed.

He opened your file, eyes scanning it for the location, and when he saw it there was a clear look of shock on his face.

“Hon you’re gonna lose your mind.” There was a hint of disbelief in his voice.

You quickly stepped over beside him, and found the location listed in the file.

Pensacola, Florida

“Oh my god, this is amazing” You playfully hit his arm with the back of your hand. Your smile was beaming. It felt like a hundred pound weight had been lifted off your chest.

“See, I told you everything would work out.” His arm moved around your shoulders, pulling you in close.

“I’m so glad it did.”

Thanks so much for reading! I’d like to write more for Jake and Carly so if you have any suggestions please send me a message or let me know in the comments! 💕

98 notes · View notes

honeymvnt · 1 year ago

Text

I want it all [18+]

Ethan Hunt x !fem!reader

Words count: 3.4k

A/N: After hearing about the death of every member of his team, Ethan realizes that he’s the only one left alive, or at least this is what he thought before you found him again.

Warnings: Ethan in Mission Impossible 1 is a warning…. Jk, again this is a smut so you know what you’re doing.

This is for my Mav, girl I love you @mqverick 🎀

It was early in the morning when you came back to the apartment where you and the rest of the team settled down to organize the whole mission.

A lot have happened since the beginning of the operation and you couldn't come to think that everyone was dead.

The sequence of events went so fast that you found yourself roaming through the cold streets in the hope that no one was following you, with your thoughts glued on how everything went terribly wrong. The annoying taste of them was leading your mind to think about the only person you knew could've saved himself, Ethan.

It was around four in the morning when you quietly climbed the stairs of the building and the suspense was devouring you and you didn't even want to think about what you had to tell to Kittridge, how to deal with him and what have happened and why you were the only one left alive.

You were so focused on your own reflections, on your fears and preoccupations that you didn't even notice that there were two light bulbs missing from the lamp walls hanging at the end of the hallway.

You approached the room, making sure to be quiet enough not to make any noise but broken glasses echoed through the whole building when you stepped in front of the door.

The glass kept cracking under your feet and you hurried yourself inside to lock the door behind you as fast as you could.

The big room was still, weirdly still like never before. You looked on your left as you caught your reflection on the tall windows that were showing the beautiful Prague in front of them.

Your eyes scanned the area until when you noticed that somebody have been there before you.

"Ethan?" You called him, walking towards the table where his computer was open on some website you've never seen before. You tried to recall where you've seen the logo before but once again your eyes made their way down the book next to it. When you tried to reach for it a hand grabbed your wrist and within a second your back was pressed against the wall and your breath stopped in your throat before your eyes shot open to meet his.

He was alive. You knew it. With a gun pointed right in front of your face and his arm locking you againts the wall as if you were the enemy. He was different from when you've seen him a couple of hours earlier: his eyes were a bit red with such rage that you didn't even recognize yourself. Your heart started to pound against your chest when you noticed that he wasn't letting go of you as you thought he would've.

"Ethan... what are you doing?" Your voice was shaky, your eyes fixated into his while you tried to get rid of his grip but the muscles of his arms tensed even more, his eyes darkened and the gun followed you.

"Turn around" your lips parted, ready to protest but you couldn't believe at what was happening right there. As complicated as the situation was already, you didn't want to upset him even more and so, you did as he ordered you to.

Ethan quickly grabbed your wrists and held them behind your back while the gun was slolwy moved down your back and remained there.

"Who sent you?" His whole body was now against yours, pressing against your back, trying to get an answer out of you, an aswer you didn't even have since that all you did was coming back like the rules say.

"No one..." you replied, trying to understand his position in all of this.

"Bullshit" Ethan said and spun you around to face you again.

"Who the fuck sent you?" You shook your head almost with desperation as you heard the sound of the bullet loading the gun, ready to shoot if needed and you knew you had to make him reason and break whatever defense he was trying to build against you.

"No one, no one sent me" His eyebrows were frowned and his hands were putting even more pressure around your wrists as he dragged you into the bedroom.

"Ethan? I don't understand..." you confessed as he put the gun into his pants and started to move his hands all over you.

"Where have you been?" His voice was against your neck and his hands were having no mercy on your body as they moved from your legs, up to your stomach and under your breasts, looking for something.

"Ethan stop this..." you tried to move away but he didn't let you.

He did not care how far this was going and besides how scared you were and how in disbelief you were about the way he was acting with you, you found it almost arousing.

"Where have you been mm?" He asked you again, turning your body around so you were facing him once again. He held you in place, letting his intense gaze devour you whole, and waited for the answer as if everything in the world depended on it.

"I... I was- looking for you" you said trying to make him reason but he didn't seem open to that and held you with both of his big hands and pinned you down on the bed.

You were almost in tears but the excitement that you were still trying to deny from yourself was even worse. How could you even find something like this attractive? Yet, there you were, almost begging for more but hiding it with tears of fake terror.

"You were looking for me" he said quickly, while his hands moved down your waist and squeezed your hips.

You unconsciously let out a whimper when he did that and his eyes immedialtly looked up towards yours. He tilted his head and a smirk made the corner of his lips curl like you've never seen before. All of this was new to you and you were still trying to process the previous hours you've spent roaming through the streets, hoping to find him alive, safe.

"You were looking for me?" Ethan asked while his hands forcefully spread your legs in front of him and his body was once again pressed against yours.

He was staring down at you, studying every single emotion you were letting out, the slightest noises you were making because of him and you haven't even noticed how hot you felt when he hovered above you in such way.

You swallowed hard and your lips parted to speak, to at least try to ptotest but as humiliating as it was right now, you wanted it, you wanted it real badly and he knew it.

Maybe he knew it all along, before all of this mess, before the whole mission. Maybe he wanted you for so long that the shock of losing you made him so scared and mad that he needed to be like this to have you.

Or maybe he knew something that you didn't and it was hard for him to trust you.

"Not speaking again?" Ethan grabbed your cheeks with a hand and forced you to stare at him "who sent you?" He asked once again but you gave him no answer.

He let go of your face and moved his hands roughly down on you again until when he found the end of your sweater and took it off of your body.

He looked at you and devoured you with those eyes of his as you noticed how his breathing fastened and his hands were desperately trying to touch all of you.

"You like this..." he said frowning when his attention focused on the way your body was responding.

He wasn't happy about it, obviously because he knew there was something wrong going on but you were not talking, you were simply not giving him what he wanted from you.

Ethan held your chin and spoke again with that tone that was making you dripping wet "you like being treated like this" his jaw clenched and your lips parted looking at his.

His hand slowly moved up your cheek and your eyes were not leaving his, not even for a second before he crashed his lips on yours. Never in your life you had such a kiss and only god knows for how long you've been waiting to be kissed by him like that.

He was so fast that without even realizing his hands were holding your thighs around his waist and his lips were roughly kissing all of your body.

You weren't able to form a single sentence nor a single thought besides embracing what he was doing to you.

When his hands reached for your trousers he quickly pulled them down your legs, until your ankles before tossing them away.

His mouth was consuming you in the most lustful way a human can even imagine and you couldn't help yourself but moan his name, bite your lips and wrap your legs around him even tighter.

You both didn't know how desperate you were for each other until now. You didn't know what the hell was going on in this room and how many people were looking for the both of you by now and you didn't care about it, just like you didn't care about how wrong this was, considering the circumstances.

He kissed your lips over and over again, forcing his tongue into your mouth and you weren't hesitanting to let him have you.

"I saw you dying" he said panting, between a kiss and another while your hands moved down his, still clothed, chest.

"It doesn't matter" you kissed him back and took off his shirt before he held your waist and pulled you even closer to his body.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and with a swift move you were now on top of him with one of his arms was holding you in place.

"It does matter..." he said after you, looking up at you waiting for an answer but instead, you moved on his lap and spread your legs while your hands undid the buckle of his belt.

"It does..." he continued but a moan escaped from his lips when you kissed his lips again.

"Does it?" You asked confidently now, but when his hands run up your back and his mouth moved down your neck, until your chest, you lost it.

He felt the tension in your muscles and smirked against your skin.

"Yeah...it does" he whispered and his fingers moved along your sides, making their way down your thighs as you shivered and arched you back towards him. You bit your lips at the feeling and your eyes fell shut when he reached the waistband of your underwear and slowly pulled them down your thighs.

The anticipation was killing you, making your lungs suffer from the heavy breathing and your mouth wet at the thought of kissing him again. You didn't even want to confess how sensitive you already were just because of all that happened, how quickly it was happening and how insanely attractive he was.

When his cold fingers touched you right where you were needing him the most, without even a warning, your hands suddenly tightened on his shoulders and the moan that you let out made him bite his lips to kill his own.

He spread your wetness all over your folds and you tried your best not to let out a sound , just to prove him that you could've resisted if you really wanted to.

Ethan was watching you, your every expression of pleasure he was causing you, your every movement and sound and you knew he wanted you more, he needed more.

"Let me hear you" he demanded, pinning you down on the bed again, making a moan escape from your lips while his his fingers started to stretch you out and his eyes were locked into yours.

"Fuck-" you said before taking a deep and quick breath

"Yes just like that" he smirked down at you and started to kiss your lips, going lower and lower.

You were struggling beneath him but it was the kind of struggle that turned him on, the kind of effort he liked from you and he was just as good as you imagined at making you sweat for it. Yes you've been imagining this all along and you were craving for it. You were dying to feel all of this, to feel him and the more you thought about how many fantasies you had with him the more you felt turned on by them.

His hands were caressing your skin, gripping on it to make sure to leave a mark afterwards so you had no other choice than stick with him.

"Ethan-" you gasped when he started to slide his fingers in and out of you, curling them to hit the right spot and make your eyes roll back. Your hips started to move along with his pace until when you didn't even realize that he had stopped moving and you were just riding them yourself.

He watched you with amusement and excitement, feeling his cock throb just at the thought of how tightly you were gripping his fingers inside of you and how wet you were getting after each pump of them.

His hand moved down to remove his boxers and free himself from the struggle.

You kept rolling your hips forward before he wrapped his huge arm around your waist and quickly switched position so you were on top of him again.

He looked up at you with eyes full of thrist for you and all you did was wrapping your arms around his neck and kiss him, bringing your body even closer to his so your chest was pressed against his.

Your hands slowly moved down his torso before you glanced down at him and he captured your lips in his again.

You adjusted yourself on his lap, biting your lips even harder than before, feeling his hard cock right against your stomach.

"Ride it" he said looking up at you and only then you noticed how bright they were, how much desperation he was holding back since the first moment he met you. He would've begged you if needed but as excited and ready as you were, you preferred to save it for another occasion.

You slowly stood up from him and placed both of your hands on his shoulders while his moved up your back, to bring you closer. He gently helped you down on his cock as you bit your lips to kill another desperate moan, trying to let your mind ignore how big he was and just take it as deeper as you could.

"fuck-" he groaned holding your hips in place, breathing heavily against your skin as you whined at how well he was stretching you out, feeling it throb in anticipation when your wet walls started to grip onto him for dear life.

The pleasure was taking over you as your mind was taken away by his images scrolling right in front of your closed eyes before you suddenly felt his hand moving up your stomach to cup one of your breasts and squeeze it lightly.

"Ethan-" you moaned feeling how hot his skin was against yours and how his lips parted when you looked back at him. Your movements became sloppier when he kissed your mouth and moved down to nibble on the skin of your chest while his hand slowly made its way up to the back of your neck.

"C'mon babe" Ethan said breathless as he noticed how much you were struggling to take it but you were so close to the edge, so close to let it go but holding back to make it last longer.

"I can't-" you cried out as your head fell backwards and your nails dug into his skin before he held you down on the bed once again.

He was still inside of you but he was staring at you, at how beautiful you looked right beneath him, with your cheeks changing shades of pink and your long dark lashes touching the top of your eyes.

"You're so... beautiful" he whispered, bending down to kiss your cheek but moving down your neck to kiss you as if he knew this would've been the first and last time you were doing this.

Your eyes fell shut and all you felt was your body melting within his, the hotness of his skin and the tension in his muscles as he held himself right above you.

"Please Ethan..." you whispered as your hands moved down his arms and his eyes returned to yours and sparkled at your words.

You were trying to read him, to understand what was going on through his mind while he was looking at you like this, if he was even aware of what was going on but his lips were too tempting and you found yourself putting your thoughts aside and kissing him before he started to move back and forth.

"Please?" Ethan asked against your lips as he felt how your grip tightened around his arms and you nodded in response, keeping your eyes closed to savor the moment.

His thrusts were slow and torturous, making yourself wetter and his movements smoother inside you.

“Faster” you moaned and he didn’t hesitate to give you what you asked for.

Ethan sped up his pace, holding you down and hitting the same spot repeatedly to make you arch your back for and more, making your eyes wet with tears and your body burn beneath his.

One of his hands was holding your thigh around him and the other was still holding you in pace as yours were tightening even more around the skin of his arms.

Your chest was rising and falling quickly and the noises he was making were only driving you insane and dangerously close to your break point.

“I wanted you for so long” Ethan said closer to your ear before kissing your jaw and moving down your neck.

His words filled your heart, wrapped around it and squeezed it between your lungs as you felt his love embracing you. You gave in even more.

Your walls clenching over and over again around him, making Ethan’s eyes fall shut and his grasp on you even tighter.

“Me too…” you confessed and watched him move above you as if it was the most beautiful sight you’ve ever seen in your life and it really was.

You felt the knot in your stomach growing uncontrollably as he keep sliding in and out of you, kissing your lips, trying to be as quiet as possible but it was impossible.

“I’m- going to…” you managed to say between a gasp and another but Ethan kissed you and spoke up again before you could.

“Let go for me” the way he made you shiver just with those words was all you needed to reach the peak.

Your lips parted again and tears steamed down your cheeks before he buried his face in the crook of neck and moaned your name.

“Oh god-“ Your walls clenched painfully as you came all over him and he emptied himself inside of you, groaning against your skin and breathing heavily as pleasure washed over the two of you.

He didn’t move away yet and his eyes slowly met yours once again and you really couldn’t help yourself anymore but smile at how they sparkled at you.

Ethan smiled back at you and hugged you as tight as he could.

All the tension that the night had built, all the losses that you both went through, the fear you experienced when you knew everyone didn’t survive and the joy that hit you when you saw that he was still alive, waiting for you with terror in his eyes as if you were a ghost coming back to take him with you or even an enemy… it was all gone.

You held him with all the strength left in your body and his hand stroked your hair, his lips trailed kissed down your neck as he spoke to you.

“I thought I’d lost you” you smiled at his words and tears fell down your cheeks once again.

“You will never lose me” you met his eyes as you cleft your heart talk to him “never”.

He smiled back at you and kissed your whole face, making sure not to leave any spot unkissed before he laid down with you and held you close to him, to make sure nothing could’ve separated the two of you.

“Never”

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