#i like thinking about how soft Goose would be to the naval aviators

[whohasthecards]

part 1/add on

Fic Idea

Goose finally gets Jake to more or less accept that he was always welcome in Goose's home, and they get closer, and start bonding more. Jake comes over so often that a lot of his stuff gets mixed in with Goose's and Bradley's belongings. Jake and Bradley start to get closer to, they still annoy the heck out of each other, but in a more playful manner.

However, Jake starts coming over less and less, and slowly stops replying to Goose's messages. Goose starts counting the days. 12 days since he last saw Jake. 9 days since the last call. 6 days since the last decent text conversation. 3 days since the last small talk text reply.

The only reason why he refrained from acting was because of Bradley who mentioned how there were admirals on base, and although everyone was on high alert and busy, Hangman was called on more than others. The admirals seem to highly value his opinion, and the only time he really sees the other man is during hops. Most of the time he sees Hangman speed walking to various meetings or working on multiple stacks of paperwork.

It worried Goose, but Jake was an adult, and work is important to him.

However, it was 3 days since the last small talk text exchange, and it's been 3 hours since he sent another text, which was seemed to be left unread.

It was supposed to be an off day today.

Jake, like many in the younger generation is very tech-savvy, and with promptness instilled by the military, usually replies very quickly.

Goose managed to cook a 3 course dinner and Jake still hasn't responded.

Goose decides, fuck it, and goes to visit the younger aviator's house and knocks on the door.

He hears a lot of concerning thuds and crashes before Jake opens the door. Hair messy, dark circles around his eyes, wearing thick clothes, and

"Goose-?" Jake croaked out in a scratchy voice.

“Come here, kiddo,” Goose said softly beckoning Jake to step closer and press his palm against his forehead, frowning at the warmth radiating off him. “You’re warm, buddy, how are you feeling?”

“Exhausted,” Jake croaked, shrugging as he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down, swaying forward. Goose put a hand on the younger man’s shoulder to steady him, and tensed when Jake moved closer and rested his forehead on his shoulder.

Alarm bells were ringing in Goose’s mind as he instinctively wrapped an arm around him, and stroked a hand through his hair. He let them stand there for a bit as he felt Jake take deep and shaky breaths, while he rubbed circles on the boy’s back.

He squeezed the nape of the boy’s neck gently to bring him to attention, as he pressed his lips on the boy’s head, “Hey, son, why don’t we move to the couch, yeah?” Goose asked.

“Okay,” Jake mumbled, as he stood up, stepping back before Goose pulled him back to his side and guided him back inside to rest at the couch.

He managed to find out that Jake has been forced to overwork himself due to certain admirals who was holding the permanent status of the Dagger Squad against him to get him to do multiple tasks. He was doing way too much for one man. Overworked himself, until body just crashed on him. Jake felt horrible, everything felt heavy and achy, he couldn't breathe properly, and he was very much, exhausted.

Goose was angry for the boy, and begins to dote on him. Feed him, get him Gatorade, snacks, hugs, and manages to pack him a bag and before Jake realizes what was happening, he was bundled up in Goose's car to stay at the Bradshaw household to recuperate.

Goose brings Jake to the house with Bradley helping Jake into the guest room and arranged the pillows and blankets to be set around Jake like a hybrid of a nest or a cocoon. Goose comes back up with actual food on hand, and feeds Jake. Goose and Bradley basically take care of Jake the whole time. At one point, Bradley have to briefly carry the other man.

Goose also calls Mav and Iceman to tell them about Hangman and the admirals situation, and Ice said he'll deal with it, while both ask for updates about the young aviator.

Iceman and Maverick visit and they spoil Jake with treats.

They also give Jake the next few days off as a reminder to never overwork. Jake is "grounded".

"Grounded", meaning that he is not allowed to work.

He can play video games, use his phone, watch TV, but he's just not allowed to work.

Goose distracts him by spending time with the younger man. Jogging with him. Playing catch. Solving jigsaw puzzles. Diamond art. Comics. Movie marathon. And more.

[winchesterandpie]

Versions of You

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x wife!reader

Word Count: 2133

Warnings: sooo self indulgent, soft Bradley, some reminiscing of Carole and Goose, brief mention of periods, brief implication of sex, but nothing explicit

A/N: Y'all, I have had this idea floating in my head since I first started writing for Bradley Bradshaw. I've tried writing it, went through several iterations of a beginning and it just wasn't right and my skill wasn't up to it. Over the past week, though, I finally think I got the feeling right. I think this may be some of my best writing, so I really hope you all enjoy!

Before he met you, Bradley thought he knew what love looked like. 

He had watched his mother love his father, even when Goose was gone. He had been too young to remember much about his father, but he could get a pretty good idea who Nick Bradshaw had been by the hole left in Carole’s life.

He knew that his dad would bring home flowers from how his mom always kept a vase of flowers on the table. His dad must have danced with her while dinner cooked because she danced Bradley around the kitchen his whole life. Goose had been a lighthearted goofball, judging by the look in Carole’s eye when Bradley would goof off to make her laugh.

He also saw it in the way she cried the first time he played the piano. He had stopped immediately, but she had quickly come over to the piano bench and crouched beside him.

“Honey, no” she’d said, combing his hair back gently with her fingers. “I’m not sad, baby, you just look so much like your dad right now. He used to play the piano all the time.” She had smiled at him before she continued, “He wanted to teach you to play when you got big enough. Oh, Bradley, he’d be so proud of you.”

Bradley hadn’t been able to give up the piano since that day. It made his mom happy to hear, so he would keep playing, for her. 

Bradley had tried as much as he could to fill the space left behind by his father, though he knew there was no replacing Nick Bradshaw. When Carole was taken, he found himself unsure whether to feel more strongly the grief of losing her or the relief that she was reunited at last with her beloved Goose. He knew that as fiercely as she loved him, she also loved her husband and had missed him for many years, and a part of Bradley was glad they were together again.

He vowed quietly to himself that he would find what they had for himself, however impossible it seemed to find someone who would fit with him as perfectly as they had fit together.

That promise faded to the back of his mind for a long time. Bradley became a naval aviator like his father, as a pilot like Maverick. He fought his way to the sky, and fought some more to become one of the very best. His life got busy, and the few relationships he had didn’t last long. In time, he all but stopped dating, and the thought of fitting together with someone was nothing more than a daydream.

Then he met you.

He wasn’t entirely sure what changed, but he was drawn to you in a way he had been drawn to no one else. The long-distant promise surfaced in his memory, along with whispers of a love he barely remembered seeing. Bradley was no longer the hopeful, starry-eyed boy he had once been, so he cautiously tucked away the way his heart skipped a beat when he saw you.

He learned quickly that ignoring the feeling didn’t make it go away. It didn’t matter where or when he saw you or what you were doing. If he saw you when you just woke up, your hair a mess as you came to answer the door in a baggy shirt, his heart thumped a little harder in his chest. If he saw you all dressed up for something special, he couldn’t stop the way the breath was knocked from his lungs.

Eventually, he couldn’t keep everything he felt bottled up any longer. Much to the relief of his colleagues, he confessed it all to you, though, that relief soon returned to fond exasperation as he kept talking about how wonderful you were to anyone who would listen.

The development of your relationship slowly led him to realize that he had been wrong about his parents. They had not, in fact, found each other and just perfectly fit together. Their lives didn’t just twine together and continue as they always had.

Carole and Goose were the epitome of soulmates, but they were also the demonstration that soulmates were not born, they were made. They chose, daily, to love each other with their whole hearts. Every day, every choice, every word, every action, they chose to grow together and create an entirely new way of being that bettered them both. 

Bradley saw how you and he changed as you grew together. He saw how you took to evening showers once the two of you moved in together, just so you could spend the time with him when he came home from the airfield covered in sweat. Even before the two of you moved in together, you had given him one of your drawers during a particularly rough training patch that had Bradley falling asleep every time he came over. You hadn’t had the heart to wake him, so you made a way for him to stay. 

He started trading sleep to write you letters when he had to be away from you. You also noticed that he started stocking your skincare products and even period products in his bathroom. You could’ve sworn he somehow knew the warning signs better than you.

The two of you stashed a bluetooth speaker in the kitchen so you could play music and sing and dance while the two of you cooked dinner. He had told you once that Carole used to dance with him and you had smiled softly at him as you pulled him closer. When he was missing his parents, that became your go-to offer of support, especially when he couldn’t manage words. 

That’s not to say there were no unpleasant moments. You had your fair share of disagreements and comments said in anger that neither of you meant. So you also learned how Bradley shut down when he was upset. He didn’t raise his voice at you-- he rarely raised his voice to begin with, and it was never directed at you--but he would turn off. You could see the mask of apathy fall over his features. He learned how you became afraid that he would hate you after your more tense fights, but hated asking him to reassure you in case you drove him further away. 

So, you grew together. Bradley still needed space when he was frustrated, but he got better at recognizing and communicating when he was nearing his breaking point. For your part, you slowly processed that it wasn’t personal as you grew to trust him more. You also got better at asking him to reassure you, and he never turned that down, even when he was upset. He also could see the signs that you needed him and would offer reassurance before you needed to ask.

He also learned the little things about you. You loved to watch sunsets on the beach, so he tried to ensure at least one day a week that the two of you could go for a walk together in the evenings. You loved to watch snow fall, so he took you on a trip to a mountain cabin where you had snowball fights and sat wrapped up in each other by the fire. If you loved it, he had likely tried to do it with you.

Bradley saw you do the same for him. He loved flying, so once they were repairing their relationship, you had bribed Maverick to let Bradley borrow his P-51 Mustang for a day so you could fly together. Of all the flights he had taken, that was his favorite. You had found sheet music for a song he couldn’t get out of his head that you’d heard him humming. Now it was one he played often, just for you.

Even in your opposites, the two of you adjusted to a balance that worked for both of you. While you tended to be more shy, preferring nights in with a video game or a mug of tea and a book, Bradley loved going out with his people and the chaotic energy he could whip up when he played piano at the bar. 

So you did some of both. You braced yourself for going out with the noisy bunch of naval aviators and even found yourself enjoying the boisterous energy. You came to love it, though it still drained you quickly. He didn’t at all mind holding you after, helping you through your evening routine as he lent you some of his own strength. Other nights, Bradley would hold you while you read aloud, or play the piano you had at home in a quiet concert just for you. He adored how warm you were and appreciated the quiet peace he found in these moments with you. You loved when he was settled enough to lay his head in your lap so you could play with his hair.

Today, he had had a rare day off and found he couldn’t bring himself to do much more than stay in bed with you. So that was what you did. Mind you, that didn’t mean you did nothing. 

Bradley looked down at where you lay on his chest, your hand tucked in his as his other hand stroked lazily along your bare back. You had dozed off quickly in a blissful haze after he’d cleaned you up gently. How he had gotten so lucky to find you, he wasn’t sure. You, with your skin practically glowing in the golden light of the early afternoon. To him, you looked like an angel lying there in his arms. He couldn’t resist the urge to press a kiss to your forehead.

You stirred then, turning your nose to nuzzle into his chest. Bradley could have sworn his heart stopped.

“Bradley?”

“Yeah, honey?”

His arm shifted with you as you adjusted to curl even closer to him. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he murmured, kissing the top of your head again.

“You’re really warm, but can we pull the blanket up? My back’s cold.”

That made him laugh, even as he obliged. With the soft comforter tucked up to your shoulders, you snuggled in against him. Bradley’s hand returned to its path up and down your spine. “Better?”

“Much,” you hummed.

After a moment, he said your name tenderly, a question. 

You squeezed his hand in response, wordlessly encouraging him to continue.

“Do you ever think about how much we’ve changed since we met?”

“Sometimes,” you answered honestly. “Why?”

“Just thinking a lot lately. We’ve changed a lot since then.”

He felt you nod against his chest as you started to fiddle with his wedding ring. It was a sure sign you weren’t sure what he was getting at, but you trusted him enough to only say, “we have.”

“When I met you, I didn’t know how much truly loving someone would change me. I really like who I’ve become with you. I like who we’ve become together.” He felt you smile as you kissed his chest. The warmth that bloomed there confirmed for him what he was about to say, though he already felt the truth of it in his bones. “I have loved every version of you. I can’t wait to meet and love all the other versions of you that come along for the rest of our lives.”

As he had predicted, that had you turning your face into him shyly. He would’ve sworn he could feel your face heating up where your skin met his.

Eventually, you propped yourself up to look at him. Your hand that wasn’t in his found its way into his hair. “Bradley Bradshaw, are you sure you’re an aviator and not a poet?”

He chuckled, hand flattening on your back. “For you? I might just be both.”

If he could freeze the next moment and live in it forever, he would. You were propped up over him, the reassuring weight of you against him. The golden light from the window seemed to be everywhere, shining off you hair and glittering in your eyes. The way your face glowed was entirely you as you smiled at him. 

Bradley couldn’t think of anything other than how much he loved you and how he was certain now, more than he had ever been, that his parents were proud of him. He had kept his promise and built a love as strong as theirs with you. 

When you leaned down and kissed him, he silently made a new promise, one he knew he would keep.

He swore with every slow press of his lips to yours that every day, every version of you, he would love you.

And man, oh man, he looked forward to it.

Top Gun Tags:

@malindacath @army24--7 @mads-weasley