#iceman whumptober

[topgun-imagines]

Day 6: Part Of Me

Pairing: Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky x fem!reader

Synopsis: When you wake up to horrific pain in the middle of the night, you immediately know what’s wrong.

Warnings: Miscarriage, blood, death, panic attack, mention of hospitals, mental breakdown & descriptions of pain.

Word count: 1.5k

The world around you was calm. For 3:17, that was perfectly normal. A soft breeze flitted through the open window, making you shiver in your sleep and curl into Tom. Even in his sleep, his arm tightened around you. For the first time in what felt like weeks, you were finally at peace. With Tom’s never-ending workload, the two of you could hardly ever find time just for yourselves. So, you relished these moments. Even if you were simply sleeping next to him, the two of you were together and that was all you could have needed.

This was the kind of peace you longed for. Being held like this, in his arms, didn’t get to happen very often due to his busy schedule. Oftentimes, he was on the other side of the world on a ship, making it hard for the two of you to even say goodnight. It was safe to say that being snuggled against his warm skin was a pleasant change of pace.

Tom lay sound asleep next to you, flimsy sheet draped across his waist and soft snores falling from his parted lips. No matter how peaceful the outside world appeared, that was far from the truth. Even your fiancé was blissfully unaware of the moment you woke up in a stomach-churning pain that left you breathless. Regardless of the cool sea breeze blowing through the window, your skin was warm and sticky. Sharp gasps escaped you and tears welled in your eyes at the immense pain.

You didn’t know what to do. Panic began to flood through you. Without making a sound, you hobbled out of the bed, hardly able to walk. You paused and flicked on the lamp. The sight on your side of the bed almost had you collapsing onto the ground.

It had been two months since you found out that you were pregnant and it had been the happiest eight weeks of your life. Now, however, you were watching all of that come crashing down around you. You had read every book on pregnancy you could find and as much as you wanted to deny it, you knew exactly what was happening.

You had heard horror stories of women miscarrying. Stories of nights where everything seemed fine at first, only for them to be in the hospital a few hours later. Tom had assured you that that would never be the case with you. Oh how wrong he was. You should have seen this coming when it was so difficult to get pregnant. You should have known. How could you have been so careless? This was all your fault.

The thought had you shaking, hand clasped over your mouth tightly. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t stifle your sobs. You were crying hysterically now as the reality of the situation sunk in.

You had lost your baby.

You did everything right. You had made sure to follow every rule, no matter how foolish or silly or redundant you thought it was, you followed it. Every. Single. Rule. Even random advice from family members that had absolutely no business being a fact. You still followed and listened. All because you wanted to keep your baby safe. Now, it seemed as if none of that mattered.

Through the thoughts racing around your mind, you couldn’t hear the way you were nearly hyperventilating. But Tom did. Within seconds of sitting up groggily, he was by your side. Your sobs only grew louder at the feeling of his gentle touch. You had failed. You had failed him. Why was he comforting you? Surely you didn’t deserve it. He would pull away when he finally understood. You were positive.

Only, he never did pull back. Not even when you tried to tell him what was wrong. “Ice-” You gasped through your sobs, struggling to breathe properly. All he did was hold you tiger, tears of his own welling in his eyes. They were fixated on your side of the bed. He was staring at the dark spot on the crisp white sheets; the spot that was covered in blood.

Ever so slowly, the tears began leaking down his face. “I know, baby,” It was softer than a whisper but it spoke volumes. Together, the two of you sobbed as his head collapsed into the crook of your neck. “I know.”

When you let out a sound akin to a scream was the moment that Tom finally rose from the ground. His movements were quick as he helped you to your feet, helping you change from your flimsy shorts into a loose pair of his sweats. Soft words of assurance were whispered against your temple as Ice picked you up bridal style and carried you to the car. Deep down, you knew that he was much more terrified than he was letting on, but he was keeping a brave face for you. In your hazy mind, you couldn’t find the words to thank him.

In the air, Ice was a very calm and collected man. One of the most important things to him was his ability to follow rules to the letter. He never let anything mess him up, not even Maverick. But now, he was breaking more than several traffic laws to get you to the hospital quickly. Right now, he didn’t care how recklessly he had to drive, he was going to get you to that hospital.

Within ten minutes, Ice was parking the car in front of the doors. It was hard to focus on anything but the pain surging through your body, setting your nerve endings ablaze. Once again, you were lifted into his arms and rushed into the building. “Help!” Even through your unfocused, fuzzy mind, you could hear his cry for help. At this point you were delirious. Your head lolled against his chest and you seemed seconds away from passing out. “Please! She needs help!” The last thing you saw before everything went dark was the concerned face of your fiancé.

When you woke up, you were no longer in pain. Honestly, you weren’t quite sure if that was good or bad. The second you were coherent enough, you were looking for Tom. After everything that had happened tonight, all you needed was your pilot.

Unsurprisingly, you didn’t have to look far. Ice was sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair beside your hospital bed. The sight of him sitting with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands instantly formed a pit in your stomach. Of course, Ice was a serious person. But after a night like this, he wouldn’t be sitting like that if it wasn’t bad news. Almost instinctively, your hand reached down to hold your stomach. The joy you once felt from touching the area that held your baby never came.

“I’m so sorry,” Tom’s head snapped up so fast that you were surprised he didn’t get whiplash. The man was by your side in an instant. There was a look in his eyes, one that you had never seen before. It only added fuel to the fire. “It’s all my fault.”

That had him shaking his head adamantly. This was a terrible turn of events but he would never, ever, blame it on you. Unshed tears lined his eyes, clinging to his dark lashes. “No, baby,” Delicately, Ice reached up to cup your cheek. His tears began to fall. Not very long after, yours followed suit. “It’s not your fault. You couldn't have done anything to stop it.” While his words were supposed to be comforting, they had just confirmed your worst fear. Your baby was gone.

“Listen to me,” He tried again to comfort you, both hands cupping your cheeks and using his thumbs to wipe away your tears. “There was nothing we could have done.” Whispered words of assurance did little to calm your racing mind. How did he know that? How did he know for certain that there was nothing that you could have done better to keep your baby safe?

The sad smile on his face was the straw that broke the camel's back. You burst into tears once more. That was how the two of you remained for as long as you could remember. Your head in the crook of his neck, his hand on the back of your head and arms wrapped tight around you as the two of you snuggled on the scratchy hospital sheets. You were sure that your combined cries were loud enough to be heard on the other side of the hospital. Even so, you couldn’t find it in you to care. And as a nurse passed by the closed door, her heart broke for the couple inside. The couple that had just lost their baby girl.

a/n: hope you enjoyed! Join the taglist!

Tagging: @ohtobeleah @xoxabs88xox @els-marvelvsp @kmc1989 @nyx2021

[blazingstar29]

When Tom dies, Pete moves into the spare bedroom. He sleeps in the single bed and showers in the guest bathroom whilst dust coats the photo frames and the scents of their intertwined love slowly evaporate. Phone chargers are still plugged into the wall and three-quarter full shampoos sit in the shower.

Months go by until Slider visits and forces him to go into the room.

"Are you going to lock him away in a dark room for the rest of your life?"

"Maybe."

But Slider opens the door and the curtains are still drawn and spiders have nested in the window panes. He holds Pete's hand whilst they strip the bed and holds him together when he cries over Tom's rusted razor by the bathroom sink.

The only thing they don't wash are the pillows. Pete sprays a dusty bottle of cologne into the air and breathes for the first time in months.

[thethistlegirl]

Ok I'm sorry, two days of angsty Top Gun edits IN A ROW...but this just fit a little too well.

@nade2308 @whumptober

[sarahsmi13s]

Don't Take The Girl

whumptober day 29: bargainning

pairing: tom 'iceman' kazansky x wife!reader

characters: tom kazansky, y/n kazansky, tommy kazansky, ron kerner, carole and bradley bradshaw

warnings: 18+ MDNI, language, pregnancy, childbirth, blood, bargainning with God, praying, traumatic birth, crying, medical inaccuracies, please let me know if I missed any

word count: ~2.3k

a/n: this is for whumptober! please please please proceed with caution and use discretion, protect your peace

also if you are on the whump taglist but are not familiar with a character, you can skip it will not hurt my feelings!

this is inspired by the song Don't Take the Girl by Tim McGraw

whumptober 2023 masterlist

summary: tom was so excited to welcome his daughter into the world... but he had no idea that he might have to say goodbye on the same day

Beep beep beep

Ice chuckled as the student flying behind him tried to get a missile lock on him. 

Silver, the student on his tail, was rushing the hop because he was trying to beat Cobalt and prove to everyone that his call sign was not indicative of how he performs.

It reminded him of how Maverick flew when they were students in Top Gun. “Come on Silver, don’t be reckless. That’s not how you win,” Ice said, his voice cool and even as he rolled out of the way.

“You wanna win, you do it right. It’s how I-”

“Range control to Iceman.”

“Iceman to range control, everything alright?”

“Yo,” Slider’s voice broke through then. “Ice, hospital just called. Y/N’s gone into labor.” 

Tom nearly stopped at his friend’s words, slowing down as he processed it. “What?”

“Yeah, your baby girl is coming now, we gotta go. Tommy’s at a friend's house. We gotta go pick him up,” Ron said quickly, trying to convey his urgency.

Ice could only nod before ringing filled his cabin. Missile lock. 

“Alright, I’m down. Lesson over. I’ll lead the way back to base,” Ice said, not caring that he lost because he was distracted. You were in labor, and he needed to be there.

After landing and rushing out of his plane, Tom didn’t even bother changing out of his flight suit before leaving to go get your son from his friend’s house and going to the base hospital with Ron at his side.

“Why are we going to the hospital, Daddy?” Tommy, your six year old son, asked from his carseat.

Tom looked over his shoulder at him before looking back at the road, “You know how we’ve been waiting on your baby sister to get here?” Tommy nodded. “Well, she’s on her way and we’re meeting Mama at the hospital to get her.” 

Tommy smiled and he bounced a little in his seat, “I’m gonna be a big brother!” Ron chuckled, “Yeah little man, you’re gonna be a big brother. The best big brother I bet.” He nodded, “I’m gonna try!”

Ice smiled as he finally pulled into the hospital parking lot.

Your son was so excited that he unbuckled himself and nearly bolted out of the car. “Thomas Jordan, do not just run off like that. I get that you’re excited, trust me I am too. But Aunt Carole and I can’t chase you around, okay?” Tom said, being firm but not mean.

Tommy stopped and ran back to him, grabbing his hand, “Yes sir.” Ice gave him a soft smile before picking him up, “Alright let’s go.” 

They walked in and went straight to labor and delivery, knowing the way after the last few moments of Braxton Hicks contractions. 

He spotted Carole in the waiting room first, Bradley was next to her playing on his Gameboy next to her. “Carole!” Her head jerked up to see him, “Tom, thank goodness you’re here. Y/N would have my head if you missed this.”

Tom nodded and chuckled, “Oh I know, but it’s mine she’ll want. Will you watch Slider and Tommy for me? I’ll come get you when we can have visitors.” Carole smiled as he sat Tommy down and she gave him a snack, “Yes, now go or you’re gonna miss it.” 

“Hey wait, why do I need a babysitter?” Ron asked as Ice went over to the desk. “Ronnie, don’t make me answer that. You want some snacks?” Carole asked, pulling out another zip-lock bag. “Oooh yes!” 

Tom rolled his eyes fondly as he walked up the nurse’s station.

“I’m Captain Thomas Kazansky, my wife is here. She would have come in a little bit ago?” The nurse looked at her sheet, “Y/N?” “Yes, yes that’s her.” She smiled at him, “Room 304, I can lead you to it.” He patted the counter top, “Thank you.” He followed the nurse down the hall and to the room.

When they got there the nurse knocked before stepping in, “The father is here.”

“Tom?” He heard your tired voice come from the bed before another contraction ripped through you and you had to push again. He smiled, “Yeah yeah I’m here, Sweet-” 

“I’m sorry Captain, you have to leave. You can’t be here,” the doctor said out of nowhere.

“What?” You and Tom said at the same time as you both looked at the doctor.

You whimpered a little, “W-Why?” The doctor shook his head, “Just get him out of here, we’ll come get him.” 

The nurse only nodded and tried to guide Tom back out. 

“No, no, please, I need him in here. Please why-” You got cut off by the next contraction and the nurse managed to get him out.

Tom looked at the nurse, “What is going on? Why can’t I be in there with her?” The nurse sighed a little and just shook her head, “I’m not sure, but we have to listen to the doctor. Let's go to the waiting room, he’ll be out to get you when it’s time.”

All he can do is nod as tears hit his eyes. Something wasn’t right, he had a gut feeling. But he just had to follow orders.

It felt like a damn near eternity as Tom paced the floor. 

He had slid his aviators back on to hide the redness caused by his tears. He didn’t need Tommy seeing his normally calm father freaking out and crying. He didn’t want to worry him either, because he could be wrong. Everything could be just fine and it’s just his adrenaline from being in the air transferring to this moment. 

“Captain Kazansky?” 

Tom’s head whipped over and he looked at the doctor. “Yes?” He nodded down the hall, “May I speak with you? Privately?” Ice didn’t hesitate and followed him down back to the room they had you in.

“Are-are they okay? Why couldn’t I be in there?” Tom asked the doctor immediately as he took his sunglasses off.

“Your baby is fine, Captain. It was scary for a moment, but your baby girl is healthy,” he said, his hands in his coat pockets. 

If that was supposed to dampen Ice’s anxiety, it didn’t. It actually made it worse.

Tom huffed a little and gestured to the door, “My wife, how’s my wife? Why couldn’t I go in there?” 

The doctor sighed, “Captain, your wife… she lost a lot of blood. It was touch and go after the birth. We managed to get the bleeding stopped but we can’t be certain she’ll pull through.” Tom was silent as his heartbeat pounded in his ears. “I think it’s best if you go home, Captain…” 

“Go home? Go home?! How can I go home with my son while his mother lies in a hospital bed fighting for her life? What am I supposed to tell him? What do you say to a six year old that gained and lost someone on the same day?!”

The doctor took a deep breath, remaining calm as the normally collected blond shouted at him, “I understand that you’re angry and that you’re upset. But the only thing we can do now is wait.”

“Then let me wait with her. I won’t let her be alone. She shouldn’t be alone. Please… please let me be with her.” 

He thought about it, looking between the pilot and the room where you lay unconscious on the bed. He nodded, “Alright, you can stay.” “Thank you doc.” 

The doctor moved out of the way and opened the door. “Do you want them back here now or?” Tom shook his head, “No, not yet… I just.. I need a minute.” 

Tom walked in and the doctor shut the door to give him some privacy.

He looked at you on the bed, swallowing as his throat dried up. He knew what he walked in on wasn’t going to be pretty but the fact that it was you hooked up to wires and machines, it was heartbreaking. 

He’d seen colleagues and friends in this position, but to see you, his wife and mother of his children, in this position… it was earth shattering.

“Oh Sweetheart…” Tom whispered hoarsely as he walked over and held your hand. 

Your hand was clammy, nothing like the soft warmth he was used to and it’s what finally sent him to the floor.

Tom hit his knees, his forehead resting on your hand as he prayed.

“God… please, I can’t.. I can’t lose her. Please just... take the breath you gave me. Take the heart from my chest. Put me in her place. That’s how it’s supposed to be. That’s how it’s always supposed to happen. Me first. I’m the one with the dangerous job. Don’t take her, please… don’t take her from me…” 

He sobbed, letting out all of his emotions right there. His tears were wetting your hand and soaking into the blanket. 

Tom was terrified, he usually was good in stressful situations. But right now? This was a whole new kind of stress. 

He was sitting here begging to trade his life for yours. To die so you could live. And he meant every word.

Tom had never said anything without meaning it. Even in arguments he tried his damnedest to be honest and strategic with his words. He thought carefully about his words because he knew the impact of them. 

So his prayer was genuine. He would gladly die so you could live, so his kids could have a mother. He would trade places in a heartbeat.

Because you deserved to live.

Tom gave himself enough time to calm down before leaving to go get Tommy. He wanted your son to get a chance to see you in case anything happened. Was letting him see you like this the best idea? Probably not. But he would regret it if he never let Tommy talk to you.

So, after he collected himself he let a nurse know that it was okay to bring them to the room.

Carole walked in first, Ron and Tommy behind her and Bradley behind them.

“H-How is she?” Carole asked, a little fear in her voice. “She’s um… She’s resting.” “What about the little one?” Ron asked as he put Tommy down. Ice wiped his mouth, “They’re doing check ups and everything, making sure she’s alright.” 

“Daddy?” Tommy whispered as he hugged his father’s leg. “Is Mama okay?” 

Ice sniffled a little, “She’s just resting right now Tommy. I’m sure she can hear you though, do you want to say something to her?” Tommy nodded, “Yes please.”

Tommy walked over and held your hand, “Hi Mama. Daddy said you were sleeping but that you could hear me. I wanted to tell you I love you. I hope you’re having good dreams.”

Ice smiled at his son as he came back over and clung to his leg again. “Are we going home?” Tom sighed and squatted down, “I’m gonna stay with Mama and baby Whitney, you’re gonna stay with Uncle Sli for a little bit okay?” Tommy nodded before hugging his dad, “Okay Daddy, I love you. Can we come in tomorrow?” 

He nodded, “Maybe, we’ll have to see okay? I love you too.” He kissed his forehead and Ron gave him a quick hug before they left. 

Carole sniffled as she looked at you and walked over to hold your hand. 

“Is she gonna pull through?” 

Tom sighed and walked over, “They don’t know…” Carole nodded, “I think she will. She’s a fighter. Always has been. And she wouldn’t leave you and those babies behind, not if she has a choice.” 

She wiped her eyes a little before leaning over to kiss your forehead, “We’ll come by tomorrow okay?”

Carole turned back to Tom, “Any updates, this is where we’re staying. Don’t hesitate to call.” He took the piece of paper, “Thank you Carole.” “Of course,” she said with a gentle smile before hugging him. “Bradley, c’mon, let’s get out of Tom’s hair.” 

Bradley nodded and gave Tom a quick hug, “Bye Uncle Ice.” “Bye kiddo.”

They left and Tom turned back to you. “It’s just us sweetheart.” 

He walks over and sits down, threading his fingers through yours. “I don’t really know if you can hear me right now… but I’m gonna talk to you like you can…”

Tom sat there for hours talking to you. Whatever it was, whether it be what happened at work to reminiscing about the past, he talked about it.

He just kept talking. He knew that if he stopped he wouldn’t stop thinking about what might happen. He had to keep his mind busy.

At some point, they brought Whitney in. Everything was okay and she was in good health so she could be in the room.

Tom smiled and walked around with her as he talked to her, rambling on about her older brother, her aunts and uncles. He talked about you and how much you loved her even though you couldn’t tell her right now.

He eventually put her back in the bassinet before sitting by your bed again and holding your hand.

“I’ve been listening to that damn heart monitor for hours, Sweetheart. If I wake up and I don’t hear it…” His own words choked him up. He cleared his throat. “I know, I know… don’t think about it ‘if’s. But Sweetheart, I need you to wake up… please I can’t do this without you.”

Sniffling, he clasped his hands together one last time, your hand gently trapped in the middle. “Please… don’t take her from me… please.” 

He wiped his eyes before laying his head on your thigh gently, letting the rhythmic beat of your monitor lure him to sleep. 

Beep… Beep… Beep…

taglist: @bradleybeachbabe @mamachasesmayhem @kmc1989 @lovinglyeternal @horseshoegirl @hangmansgbaby @fanboyswhore9 @nightowlalltheway @86laura11 @els-marvelvsp @valmare @startrekfangirl2233 @malindacath @nyx2021 @chaosofmanyfandoms

hi, if you're seeing this and are currently not on the taglist and would like to be please fill out the taglist form -> whumptober taglist

i can not stress this enough, but whumptober can have some very serious and heavy topics and i want to make sure i am doing my part as an author to prepare my readers for what they are about to experience and that includes not only warnings above but my taglists as well

so if you want to be added check out the masterlist and read that carefully and fill out the form -> whumptober 2023

[improvisedkatastrophe]

Sneak peeks of the rest of Whumptober and Sicktember if anyone’s interested…

Whumptober:

#28–bloody knife, “You’ll have to go through me.”

Couple of idiots decide to try and mug Iceman on his way home one evening. He gives as good as he can but when he realizes they have knives he decides to bow out. No one told Maverick that plan.

#29–scented candle

There’s a reason Jake despises lemons and yellow things. Not one he remembers outright most of the time, but something ingrained deep within him. Unfortunately he remembers all too well when he comes home to his and Brad’s place one evening.

#30– borrowed clothing

Little snippets throughout time where Mav ends up wearing somebody else’s clothes. Usually because of some misfortune happening.

#31– “Take it easy”

Volleyball game ends up a little topsy turvy when Ice overheats. The flyboys step up to take care of the usually cool pilot and get a better understanding of one another.

Sicktember:

#27– Uncooperative patient

Ice isn’t very good at taking it easy and his latest bout of illness is proving that. Maverick can’t figure out what to do, until Baby B gets sick too. Then the answer is clear.

#28–“I should have stayed home.”

Slicemav— Ron has been fighting a migraine off and on for a day or so as he made his way back from deployment. He thinks it’s all over but then when he gets up on his first day home, a day Bradley has begged him to go to an event on, he thinks he’ll be just fine. He’s wrong.

#29— Adverse Reactions

A dagger day at the beach ends up with some of them encountering Jellies. One of the Daggers has a surprising response to the encounter and gets some much needed TLC

#30—Alt. Forehead kisses

Carole teaches Ice that forehead kisses are a great way to check for a fever, and then the many many times he uses this new skill on his husband, their son, and more.

[topguncortez]

Day 3: Hairs breadth from death ➢prompt: Say Goodbye ➢Character: Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky ➢warnings: death, cancer, coughing up blood, dying, cannon character death ➢word count: 3k

|| masterlist || whumptober || whumptober masterlist || library page ||

There were three times in her life where Y/N braced to lose the love of her life. The first was back in 1995. Y/N could remember that night so clearly. She had been asleep when she heard him start coughing. Tom was laying on his back, and rolled over onto his side, as he coughed. He inhaled sharply, trying to cough up whatever was sitting right in his throat. It felt like he was choking on something, but he couldn’t even think of what. He hit his chest a couple times as he swung his legs over the side of the bed to sit up straight. The movement caused Y/N to sit up, and rub her eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” She mumbled, rubbing her husband’s back. 

“I-” Tom could hardly say anything through his hacking. He turned on his bedside lamp, and reached for a tissue as he felt his body hack something up. Y/N looked over his shoulder as he stared in horror at the blood on the tissue. 

“Oh my god,” She exclaimed, and moved off the bed, running to his side. Tom’s lapse in coughing only lasted for a bit, before it picked up again, and red speckles of spit hit the white tissue, “I’m calling 9-1-1.” 

“No! It’ll wake the kids,” He wheezed out. 

“You’re coughing up blood, Tom!” Y/N cried, as she picked up the receiver and dialed for help, “Hello? My husband is coughing up blood. . .” 

The kids had woken up at the sounds of their parents being awake. Y/N instructed their son, Jack and their daughter, Lyla to stay in their rooms while she ran down to the front door to let the paramedics in. She led them up to the bedroom, where Tom was still sitting on the bed, blood on his shirt and hands. Jack had cracked the door slightly, so he and Lyla could see what was going on. 

“I don’t know what’s going on, he just started this,” Y/N said frantically. The medic nodded, and walked over to Tom, asking him a bunch of questions, while Y/N stood in the corner of the room, her husband’s blood still on her hands. She didn’t even realize Jack and Lyla were up until they came running over to her. She did her best to try and cover them from seeing what was going on, but they could still see everything. 

“We need to take him to the hospital. You are welcome to ride with us,” The medic said. 

“Stay. . . with the. . .kids,” Tom coughed out, wincing in pain. 

“Okay, we’ll meet you there,” Y/N said, and kissed her husband’s forehead, as they took him out of the house on a gurney, “You’ll be okay.” 

“What’s going on with daddy?” Lyla cried as she reached for her mother. Y/N picked up Lyla and held Jack’s hands as they walked down the hallway with the medics. Tom looked exhausted as he kept coughing, and they placed an oxygen mask on his face. He gave his wife a small smile and she blew him a kiss. 

“I don’t know sweetheart,” Y/N said, trying to keep tears out of her eyes, “Let’s go, come on, we gotta meet him there.” 

Y/N waited in the waiting room while the doctors were back looking at Tom. The kids hadn’t asked about what was wrong with their father, both a little tired and scared. Jack had seen the most of it, the look on his dad’s face as he coughed up blood, and the look on his mother’s face as she tried to calm down his dad. Y/N hated waiting, she had always been the wife in the waiting room and she had grown to hate it. However, Tom stopped going on the dangerous missions when they had Lyla and he got promoted to Admiral. The last time she really worried about him was back in 1986, when he was deployed right after TOPGUN. 

Tom tried to push the doctors away when he got to the hospital, after they gave him a nebulizer in the ambulance. He tried pulling the “I’m an Admiral” card, but it was useless when his wife was in the room too. Tom tried to brush it off, like it was a normal occurrence to wake up coughing up blood, but it was because he was terrified of what it meant. Was he dying? Was he sick? Was this going to ruin his career? He was just getting to the higher ranks of where he wanted to be. He couldn’t just stop now, but the death glare his wife was giving him was saying otherwise. 

“You need to get the test done,” Y/N said, crossing her arms over her chest, “It’s a simple scope to see what’s going on.” 

“Nothing is going on!” He yelled. 

“Fine, if not for me, do it for Jack and Lyla. They saw you last night Tommy, and it terrified them. Please, just get the test.” 

Tom sighed and looked down at his hands, “What if it ends my career? What if it grounds me forever? You heard what they said, Y/N, it was a spasm from the dry air. No blood clots, no obstructions. Just need to be on vocal rest like I’m Madonna or some shit.” 

Y/N giggled, and moved from the chair she was sitting in, and curled up in bed next to him. Tom sighed as he put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest. He kissed the top of her forehead, and rested his cheek on the top of his head. 

“If this happens again. . . you’re getting that damn scope down your throat, even if I have to do it myself.” 

“Ah, my sexy little nurse, huh?” Y/N smacked his chest at his comment, which caused him to cough again. 

“Oh my god, I’m sorry,” She said, lifting her head up, but couldn’t help but giggle. 

“You think it’s funny?” Tom asked, a smile on his face. She tried to suppress her laughter, but it was no use. They both fell into a fit of laughter as they laid in the hospital room. 

Y/N had almost forgotten about that night in 1995. Tom had moved past it after spending almost a week off of work. Just as Jack and Lyla grew, so did Tom’s career. Tom was promoted to commander of the pacific fleet in 2006, which was the same year that Jack had graduated high school and headed for the academy. Tom was so proud to have his son following right in his footsteps. He’ll never admit it outloud, but he shed a tear as he dropped Jack off at college. 

2006 was also the year that Tom started coughing up blood again. He tried to hide it from Y/N, but Lyla had given him up. She had spotted the bloody tissues, and could hear him coughing in his office. Y/N reminded him of the promise he made years ago, and made him an appointment to go see the doctor (she might’ve had to bribe him with a promise of a sexy nurse outfit). She sat in the waiting room, tapping her foot anxiously as she waited for his doctor to come get him. 

Tom truly believed there was nothing wrong. That this was like what happened in 1995. But he didn’t expect for them to tell him he had cancer. It was like a bomb had been dropped, he heard the ringing in his ears as the doctor talked about treatment options, chemo, radiation, potential surgery. 

“Wait,” Tom said, snapping out of his trance, “How will this affect my career?” 

“Are you serious right now?” Y/N asked, turning to him, “Tom, you just got diagnosed with cancer and you’re worried about your career?” 

“Answer the question, doc,” Tom said, completely ignoring Y/N’s statement.

“Short term? Yes, you will need to have chemo radiation done to help shrink the cancer, and then probably surgery. Long term? We don’t know. This cancer is aggressive, and is known to return. You can be in remission for years, and then it comes back and it’s. . . everywhere.” The doctor said. 

“What do we do?” Y/N asked, and grabbed her husband’s hand. 

“Well, we will get you in touch with our oncology department, get some more tests, and start chemo. Admiral Kazansky, is that something you want to do?” 

Tom looked up from his hands, and looked at the doctor. He never imagined that he would be 45 years old, becoming commander of the pacific fleet, and being diagnosed with cancer all in the same year. He had only been in the position for six months. But he had more than his career to think about. He had his kids, even though Jack was at the academy and Lyla was in high school, he still couldn’t leave them behind. And Y/N. . . it would break her apart to lose him. 

“I’ll fight,” Tom said. 

It was the worst six months of his life. Trying to battle cancer, and be the commander. He had told his command team what was going on, but had no intention of slowing down. They made sure to keep on top of everything, being able to fill in where he needed the help. Y/N was by his side through it all, from rubbing his back when he threw up, to taking him to every doctor's appointment. Telling the kids was the hardest part. Lyla cried in her dad’s arms, and Jack thought back to that night in 1995. Tom assured his kids he was going to beat it, that he was going to be around for a long time. 

It was the spring of 2007, that Tom had entered in remission, after two rounds of chemo and surgery to remove part of his lung. He was determined to get right back to work, even picking up another deployment as the commander. Y/N was happy to have her husband back to good health, seeing the smile on his face as he was given yet another award. She thought it was all going to be perfect. That she was going to live a long healthy life with Tom Kazansky by her side. 

She didn’t need to be told the cancer was back, she could just tell by the look on his face. He gave her a sad smile, and Y/N pushed the tears away as she walked over to him. He pulled her into his lap, and rested his chin on her shoulder. 

“Love-” 

“No,” Y/N said, and shook her head, “You’re gonna be okay. You beat it before, and you can do it again. And we are right here with you.” 

“You know what they-” 

“I know, but doctors get stuff wrong,” Y/N said, and kissed his cheek, “We’re gonna be okay.” 

Tom had said that if the cancer was to ever come back that he didn’t want to do chemo again. Those months of losing weight, losing his hair, vomiting, his skin drying out and being in pain was enough to endure once, he wasn’t about to do it again. Y/N respected his choice, even though she didn’t agree, she knew it was up to him.

The day that she could tell he was in pain while talking, was the day she went out and bought him an ipad. He hated it, he’d rather be able to actually talk, than use some device, but he also couldn’t take the pain of trying to speak. The only time he would talk was when he was laying in bed next to Y/N, and it was barely above a whisper. 

“Mav is. . . in trouble. . .” Ice said as Y/N was working in the garden. 

“Oh no, who did he piss off this time?” 

“Another admiral,” Tom opted to use the text to speech feature on his ipad, “Bringing him here.” 

“Does he know?” Y/N looked up at her husband. Tom shook his head, and looked down at his feet. Y/N sighed, walking up to the deck, “Well, are we placing bets on how long he is gonna last under Simpson’s command?” Tom laughed and shook his head. 

“He can’t get in trouble. No more saves.” 

“Can you tell me about what he is doing?” Tom shook his head and held his finger to his lips. Y/N scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully, “You would think after spending the past 30 years as a naval officer I could finally get an inside scoop, Admiral.” Ice still shrugged, and lifted his head up to kiss her. 

Maverick had been at TOPGUN for all of a week before Ice got a call about him from Admiral Simpson. Ice and Y/N both knew that it was time to invite Maverick over and talk to him. Y/N had managed to get some more information out of her husband, and found out about the mission and the fact that both Jack and Bradley were going to be a part of it. She wasn’t all too thrilled that her actual son, and the boy who might as well be her son were on the team and Ice didn’t tell her. But she knew it was for the best. 

“Y/N,” Maverick said as Y/N opened the door. He greeted her with a hug and a kiss on her cheek, “It’s been a while.” 

“It has,” She sighed, and Maverick looked at her. 

“It’s come back?” He asked. Y/N bit her lip and nodded, tears in her eyes. She looked up at him, and Maverick felt his heart fall in his chest. 

“No one knows but the kids and me,” Y/N said, “There’s nothing else they can do. Even speaking is now too painful for him to do.” 

“Y/N, I’m sorry,” Maverick said, and pulled her in for a tight hug. It was the first time she told someone other than her kids what was going on. It felt like a slight weight off her shoulders as she cried in Maverick’s arms. They pulled away from each other and she wiped the tears from her cheeks. 

“He’s in his office,” Y/N said and Maverick nodded before going down to see him. She let out a sigh, and looked out into the backyard, seeing her grandkids running around and went to join them. 

It was only a day after that meeting with Maverick, that things seemed to go downhill with Ice’s health. He had woken up again, coughing up blood and in severe pain. Y/N had called their on-call doctor to come over and help. The doctor had told her that this was the moment they had been dreading. The moment where everything shifted from “what can we do to help him?” to “how can we keep him comfortable?” Y/N had let out a sob as she stood in the hallway outside her bedroom.

“He’s asking for you,” A nurse said, and Y/N looked up at the doctor. 

“Y/N, we knew this was coming. . .” The doctor said, “It’s time to say goodbye.” 

Y/N nodded and the doctor squeezed her shoulder, before leaving her in the hallway. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes before heading into the bedroom. Ice laid still in bed, his eyes closed, and his breathing shallow. The nurse had given him some morphine for the pain, and he was peacefully sleeping.

Y/N closed the door softly, and walked over to her side of the bed, crawling in next to him. Ice stirred slightly, moving his arm so she could come into his side. She softly laid her head on his chest, and placed her hand on his still beating heart. 

They laid in silence before Ice cleared his throat. Y/N lifted her head up and looked at him, his blue eyes fluttering open briefly, before closing. 

“I’m. . . sorry. . .” He said softly. 

“For what, Tommy?” 

“This. . .” 

Y/N gave him a smile, and gently caressed his face, “It’s not your fault. There’s nothing to be sorry for.” 

“You. . . want. . . forever. . .” 

“I said I want forever as long as it is with you. And you did just that,” Y/N said, “It’s okay, Tommy. You gave me everything I could’ve ever asked for. You gave me love when I didn’t think I deserved it. You gave me two of the most beautiful children I have ever seen. You gave me this beautiful house. You gave me everything, Tommy, and so much more.” 

“I. . . want. . .longer. . .” Tom breathed out, a tear falling down his cheek. Y/N wiped the tear from his cheek, and held his face gently in her hand.

“I know, and I do too,” Y/N said, tears now running down her cheeks, “We both deserve longer. But this isn’t the end of the book, it’s just the end of the chapter. It’s only temporary. We’ll be together forever, real soon.” 

“Not. . . too soon. . .” Tom opened his eyes again, and looked at her. He slowly moved his hand to her cheek, and caressed her cheekbone with his thumb. She leaned in and kissed his lips softly, and then his forehead, before laying back down on his chest. 

“I love you,” Y/N said, as she listened to the slowing sound of his heart. 

“I love you,” Tom breathed out, and Y/N felt the rise and fall of his chest stop.

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

Ice Cold

Whumptober 2022: 7. The Way You Shake and Shiver, 21. You’re Safe Now Fandom: Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, f!reader, Reader is Iceman's Daughter Word Count: 760 TW: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Freezing, Death Note: Thank you to @marvelousmermaid for looking this over for me 💖

You were so cold. Colder than you could ever remember being before in your life. You were shivering from the inside out and you were worried you’d chip a tooth if your teeth didn’t stop chattering so fiercely. But at least your body had gone so numb that the injuries from your crash didn’t hurt anymore.

The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on you. In a way, it was poetic that Iceman’s daughter, code name Snowflake, was slowly freezing to death. But after your plane went down, you were too injured to find cover from the cold or to build a fire. You barely had enough strength to drag yourself away from your plane in case a fuel line caused an explosion. At this point, you were hoping for one. Explosions meant fire, and fire meant heat.

Unless that happened, your only hope was a rescue team located you soon. Maverick had been your team leader for this mission and you knew he wouldn’t stop until he found you. Your godfather had never failed you before, so you just needed to hold out a little longer. Knowing him, he’d have rangled together every available airman to help with the search. 

It was becoming more difficult to breathe as the cold air stabbed at your throat and burned your lungs with each breath. Your vision began to blur and all you could see was the blanket of white stretching in front of you against the inky darkness of the night. 

But suddenly, something else came into your field of vision. Struggling to bring the world back into focus, you finally made out a pair of combat boots standing before you, and the person wearing them squatted down to your level. Giving you a sad smile, he said, “Hey, baby.”

“D-Dad…” you breathed in astonishment. “Wh-what are you d-doing here?”

“Where else would I be?” Iceman asked. “I had to come get my girl.”

You managed a small chuckle before your body was racked with another intense shivering fit that you felt down to your bones. Weakly, you chattered, “Dad…. I’m s-s-so c-cold.”

He rested his hand on your cheek. “I know, but don’t worry. I’ll get you someplace warm real soon. You’ve done good, kid. Now it’s time to take you home.” 

Bending down, he scooped you up into his arms just like he used to when you were a little girl. And as you leaned your head against his chest, you already felt his warmth radiating throughout your body. 

You hummed as you snuggled in closer to him, your shivering slowly fading away. “I feel better already.” For the first time, you looked up and really took in the man carrying you. What you saw made you smile. “You look good, Dad.” 

He returned your smile and said, “So do you, baby. Now, close your eyes. It’s all going to be okay.”

You nodded softly, suddenly overwhelmingly tired. With the warmth from your father wrapping around you like a blanket and the steady beat of his heart serenading you, you closed your eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

Maverick was the first one to spot you about a hundred feet from where your plane had crashed. The second he saw the drag marks in the snow, he had taken off running but because of the fresh layer of snow, he had almost tripped over your snow-covered body. 

Dropping to his knees beside you, he desperately tried to wake you, to find a pulse. But, despite his efforts, it was painfully clear by your blue-tinted lips and ice-cold skin that you were gone. That he had been too late.

He collapsed back into the snow and buried his head in his hands even as the emergency team began examining you. However, he knew there was nothing they could do. 

Tears began to well up in his eyes as he silently begged Ice for forgiveness. Since they had met at Top Gun decades ago, Ice had saved Maverick’s career more times than he could count. And the only thing in all that time that Ice had ever asked in return was that Mav keep his daughter safe. It had been the last thing Ice had said to him before he died over a year ago and, now, Mav had failed him. He had failed you.

And as he stared up into the night sky where the snow and stars seemed to merge into one, Maverick just hoped that wherever the two of you were now, you were together once more.

Taglist: @nik2blog, @dumb-fawkin-bitch, @valoraxxx-blog, @m3laniehearts, @autumnleaves1991-blog,  @rule107, @vintageleather, @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak, @slutforadambanks, @americaarse, @reneki, @ynbutbetter , @sugarcoated-lame, @imagineadream, @sadpetalsstuff, @salty-thembo, @rachelizabethgraham, @duckandrobin, @queenbbarnes, @grincheveryday, @uselesslyromantic, @choochoo284, @littlebadariell, @blue-aconite, @thescarletknight2014

[bearsinpotatosacks]

Broken - Whumptober 2023

Tom finds Carole smoking on her porch. They get to talking, it doesn't go well.

For day 24 of @whumptober . Also on AO3

Words: 1579

Carole heard the backdoor close behind her as she took another drag. The night was bitter on her arms but she didn’t care to put a jacket on. Sunset was bleeding into the clouds below as the smoke from the cigarette rose up to join it. She didn’t like the taste of cigarettes, but she couldn’t deny that it calmed her down. Maybe it was something do with the deep breaths, or the fact that you had to physically step away from whatever situation you were in, or the nicotine, she wasn’t sure. 

“I didn’t know you smoked?” Iceman said. 

“I didn’t,” she replied when he leant against the pillar. “Until, well, you know.”

He didn’t speak. There was something about him that she couldn’t quite figure out about him, she didn’t know whether he was just aloof, or trying so hard to please everyone that she could feel him watching for her reaction, or the opposite and he didn’t care at all. She was still figuring him out and she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to get to know him that well because there would always be a block between them that they couldn’t deny.

“I want to ask you something,” she said. 

He shifted his weight and his feet scratched the wooden porch. She could almost hear his brain thinking of everything she could say to him as he waited for her to speak.

“How is it being perfect? For you?” She took another drag and let the smoke puff out of her mouth as she spoke. “Like is it a conscious thing, to please people, or is it just something about you that can’t do anything wrong?”

He rubbed his arm, “How do you mean?”

“I just-” she sighed and placed her hand with the cigarette in on her forehead. “Everyone’s expecting me to do this right, to grieve right and not make a mistake, and I wanna know what it’s like for you, as Mister ice-cold-no-mistakes, for everyone to expect pure excellence when they look at you. If it’s not a conscious thing, then how do you deal with it? Because I don’t think I can handle it.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say it was a fully conscious thing in the beginning, but-”

“You embraced it?”

“Yeah, I guess,”

“You just met their expectations everytime?”

“Yeah,”

She took a drag. “Fuck.”

“Why do you ask?”

That made her laugh. No one had noticed, of course they hadn’t. On one hand, she didn’t want them to know, but the other wanted people know. She wanted someone to approach her at work and let her cry, she wanted the mothers to smile instead of sneer, she wanted someone to give a shit outside the people who knew Goose. She deserved that at least, right?

“I have to grieve ‘properly’, I can’t make a mistake or I’m a bad mother, I can’t stop or I’m not helping him through his feelings even though no one’s helping me through mine. The house has to be tidy as anything, I can’t drop the ball or make a pick bad habits or make a mistake and throw myself at someone because I’m a widow, I should be grieving my husband. But I also have to be thinking of dating because I can’t get stuck and Bradley’s needs a father figure. Well he’s got one, he’s just not here right now.”

She inhaled the smoke to calm herself down. She didn’t know why she was venting to him. They weren’t exactly close. 

“I can’t even want to kill myself without the world telling me how evil it makes me.”

Iceman shrank into pillar. His face paled. She got the feeling that he wasn’t good at stuff like this. Or maybe it was just her. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” she started.

“You want to what?”

“I-uh,” she really shouldn’t have said that. “It’s nothing to be worried about, I wouldn’t, Bradley can’t lose someone else too, but do I sometimes wish, if I could get guaranteed that he’d be fine, that I wouldn’t wake up in the morning, yes. And do I hold my breath in the bath, yeah. Do I wish that something happened when I drive home from work? Yeah, but I wouldn’t do it, so don’t worry. I’m only a little broken that’s all.”

He stood there for a second. Fuck, she really shouldn’t have said that. Her mouth ran away with her some times. Goose could usually tell her when to reign it in before she offended someone, he couldn’t now, for obvious reasons. 

“I mean, it’s not that bad for me, I guess I planned to be-”

“Perfect?” She said. “Maybe I’m doing it wrong then. I mean, if I was perfect then I wouldn’t get dirty looks from the other moms when I drop Bradley off with red rimmed eyes or have the other people from church tell me I’m giving into the devil if I give up god after I have a lapse in belief. You’re perfect and pull off too quick and get my husband killed and get off scot free.”

He scoffed. “That’s what this is about, then, huh?”

“You can’t expect me to get along swimmingly with you.”

“You don’t exactly show it. I mean, I thought when people hated each other they shouted and made it known, but I guess not you.”

She tapped the ash off the end of the cigarette. Not meeting his eyes, she rested her eyes on the trees as they became shadows against the stars. Sometimes the sun set before you really had a chance to appreciate the view. 

“This isn’t the Navy, Tom, I can’t go around telling people what I think because we both have people we care about and I have other things to worry about than you.”

He laughed. When she looked up at him, there wasn’t any joy in his eyes. It was cold, like what she’d seen before he and Pete had made friends.

“And that’s all, is it?”

She stood up quick enough it made her head go dizzy. Stamping the cigarette out, she saw the way the smoke hid him behind a mirage. He’d turned, like he’d switched something off, turned off that dazzling smile. 

“Because now you’ve made it known how you really feel I’m thinking back and you really don’t like it when I’m here do you. So don’t just tell me it’s because you blame me for Goose’s death, because you’re talking like there’s some other reason that’s not a given for a grieving widow.”

"Fine," she said, throwing her arms out. "I don't like how you're taking Pete away from me."

He got in her face. His smile was fake, it was like a shark sneering at her, all sharp teeth dazzling you.

"There it is, you don't like how you're not in control."

She met him as he lent over her. Crossing her arms, she felt a guttural rage unlock within her. Not just at him, but at all of this, Goose dying, it being an accident, and people telling her how she was meant to grieve. She hated being a woman sometimes.

“No, it’s because I can only sleep properly when Mav or Bradley’s there, it’s because we have Goose in common and we can grieve together, it’s because he’s my friend.”

“Friend? You’re hiding the fact that you smoke from him? How much of a friend to him can you really be?”

She let out a fake high pitched laugh. He was really trying here. She could tell he’d got arguing down to a skill.

“You’re the one hiding a whole relationship.”

That fractured his mask. He stepped back as though she’d hit him. After gulping, he clenched his hands a few times before tensing his jaw as he lent over her.

“It’s fucking illegal, so don’t go throwing that shit in there, because if you actually care about Pete then you wouldn’t want him to be dishonorably dishcharged.”

How did he know how she cared about him? He’d known him five minutes and thought he could come in here and lecture her about what she should want. She was the one who’d had to nurse him out of his shell, her and Goose made sure he knew he was loved and that they weren’t going to leave him, that his dad’s reputation didn’t mean shit to them.

“I care about him having someone who would fight for him, someone who would do anything for him and to be with him because that’s what love is,”

“You can’t lecture me on love, your husband’s fucking dead.”

His eyes widened. They both knew that was too far. All the drama of the moment sunk into the ground as she realised where she stood. Right, for a second there she’d been allowed to forget, to make some of her own mistakes. Too bad that wasn’t the ‘right’ way to grieve. Silly her for not being a bubblering mess until it was convenient for people. 

“Fuck you, Kazansky.” She whispered as her throat closed up and the world went blurry as tears welled up in her eyes. 

Neither of them had noticed the figure in the doorway as she walked away. It wasn’t until she opened the door that she noticed Pete standing there like a kid who’s heard his parents fighting. She got the feeling that they’d both messed up there.

----

Neither are right in this fic, they're both hurting in different ways and weren't close enough beforehand to get through it together. I also like the headcanon that Ice and Carole weren't buddies after Goose died, not a happy one, but one that I feel is realistic because they never meet in canon (we don't know if they ever met) and I wouldn't doubt if Carole blamed Ice a little for Goose's death. Thanks for reading! @whumptober-archive

[eliashirsch]

remember when i said i cried while writing All The Sleepless Nights >> another icemav fic, featuring Ice returning to top gun as an instructor, and his journey of discovering that maybe maverick's not that bad

!SPOILERS!

if you want to read the original draft for when ice talks about sarah, here's the docs for it! (It is very rough though, as is a first draft. i was in a horrible place and wanted to exert some of that angst elsewhere. so even if it might be a little cringe or too overdramatic, a good cry writing this was exactly what i needed. if i wrote it on paper, it probably would be stained with tears :D)

during the second draft, i thought it was too over the top and a complete shift of tone from the rest of the story, so i changed it up, but still cried lmao

i think i did good for the final draft. i'm proud of it, and that's enough.

thanks to anyone who have read it! let me know what you think!

[aki-draws-things]

Whumptober 2023~

Fandom: top gun

Characters: Ron slider Kerner, Nick Goose Bradshaw, tom iceman Kazansky

Prompts: captivity

Warning: Dark goose, captivity, locked in a room kinda left to die, omegaverse of some sort

Summary: Ron made a mistake when he allowed tom to kiss him, nick makes sure he know his place as an omega.

@oh-surprise-its-me

One of The omegaverse bits translated!!

Ron whined.

It was such a pathetic sound, so so damn pathetic. Worse than a pup. And he was not a pup. (Had he ever been one? Truly?)

The door opened slightly, letting in a pale ray of light, Ron curled up on himself against the opposite wall. Light made his eyes sting.

Oh. Oh, perhaps he was allergic to light all of sudden? If that was it then his Nicky had locked him there, in that room without windows, to keep him safe, because the light would hurt him and his Nicky loved him.

"Hey sweetheart."

Ron breathed deeply, he let Nick's smell fill his lungs and senses. His hands were cool on his warm, almost feverish skin. Ron looked up with lingering eyes. He let out a slow, soft moan from dry lips. Nick smiled at the sound.

His Nick was so good and sweet with him, so careful. He brought a water bottle to his lips, water dripping down his chin and ruined uniform, but it wasn't Nicky's fault, it was him forgetting how to drink.

Ron moaned again, tears stinging at the side of his eyes as he coughed the little water he managed to get down.

"Easy, easy sweetheart, we don't want you to choke on it, right?"

Ron shook his head. With a sweet caress with the hand that Ron felt so desperate to follow, Nick moved away. he took the bottle with him. Ron was still thirsty but he kept quiet. His Nicky surely knew what was best for him, as always.

Nick sighed.

"You'll have to stay here a little longer. Sweetie, it's for your own good, that alpha is dangerous, and we don't want you to be in danger, do we?"

Ron quickly shook his head. He wanted to tell him that Tommy wasn't as dangerous as Nick painted him, he had even been kind and accompanied him back home. Ron liked Tommy, but Nicky didn't, so Ron couldn't like him.

"You still stink of him."

Nick growled and Ron shrugged off of the white uniform with wide, fearful eyes. He had liked that uniform, so white and soft.

Tommy said that soon he would've pinned the wings on it too, and they would fly together.

"Nicky will never let me... but I'd like it..." he had said, sinking his nose on Tom's neck, Tom's hands were in his hair.

"He'll have to, he doesn't own you, sunshine."

Oh, but it wasn't true.Ron didn't say it, he moaned against his neck and Tom laughed before kissing him.

Nick stared at him, the uniform discarded on the floor, Ron's body naked before him. It would take one single step to take him. One step and that stupid, pathetic omega would remember who he belonged to.

But no, he wasn't in the right mood. Sure he liked his body just fine, and he liked the way ron moved under his hand. But with that smell on him... ugh, no. Just no.

He kicked the clothes in a corner and turned on his heels, opened the door, and left.

Ron didn't know how long ago that had been, time was weird. He knew he was thirsty. And he knew his stomach stopped growling in hunger and just hurt from cramps.

The door opened again and he squeezed his eyes shut, covering them with his hands.

Whoever, Nick?, it was he didn't close it, light filtered inside. His eyes hurt, they hurt so much and so did his head. But he couldn't speak, his mouth and throat too dry for that.

"What have they done to you? Sunshine, oh my beautiful---"

He knew that voice. He dreamed of that voice.

Ron moved his hands away and opened one eye.

Tommy.

Tommy was surrounded by light, like an angel. and he was so, so beautiful that Ron couldn't stop looking at him even though it hurt.

Tom walked closer, he noticed the discarded uniform, the blood staining it, and the naked body in front of him. He draped a blanket around his shoulders and lifted him into his arms.

"Alright... let's get you away."

Nicky would get angry he had been taken away, Ron thought briefly, dazed. But he was so tired, and Tom's arms were so strong and warm, holding him close.

Never before ron felt as safe as the moment he let his eyes fall shut and leaned his head against Tom's shoulders.

[caystar13star]

Whumptober day 10

[topgun-imagines]

Day 5: Head Above Water

Pairing: Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky x fem!reader

Synopsis: Iceman may have just lost his one and only reason for keeping his head above water: You.

Warnings: Mentions of drowning, death, thalassophobia, ejection, plane crash, & brief mention of panic attacks.

Word count: 1.2k

Drowning was a funny thing. You always expected that it was one of the most painful ways to go. However, as you floated further and further down in the dark, cold water, you realized just how wrong you were. The first few moments were horrible, your lungs burning as you struggled to return to the surface with your parachute tangled around your legs. Soon, it became too much. Water began to fill your lungs ever so slowly, the pain overwhelming. And then it was gone just as fast. Everything went dark.

Unbeknownst to you, your pilot was only a few meters above you, willing to risk his own life to save yours.

You weren’t even supposed to be here. That was what kept circling Iceman’s mind as he tried relentlessly to get to you. Slider was supposed to be flying with him. Not you. But the RIO was needed on the carrier for something that Ice couldn’t even remember now. Sure, the two of you had flown together before, but it had always been for training or simple missions. Never something as high-profile as this.

It’s not that the two of you didn’t work well together. Quite the opposite, in fact. You and Iceman worked so well together that you were considered a dream team, both in the air and on land. Even though you had only flown a couple of missions together, the two of you were perfect. Hell, even Slider was jealous.

This mission was special, something that could only be pulled off by the best of the best. Everything was going perfectly fine. Right up until the left wing of your jet was taken out with a missile that Ice had tried to avoid. Ultimately, he failed. And now here he was, wading in the frozen waters desperate to find you among the wreckage. He needed you to make it out okay. This mission was supposed to be the one that would send the two of you to Top Gun. Slider had been paired up with another pilot for the spot, meaning that it was one group or the other that got to go.

However, right now, Ice couldn’t find it in himself to care whether he made it to Top Gun or not. All he needed was for you to be okay. As long as you were okay, he would be too. But as the cold water began to set a chill deep into his bones, the hope that had been slowly dying in his chest was snuffed out immediately.

When the missile first struck the jet, the two of you knew exactly what to do. You ejected, followed shortly by Ice. However, your parachute didn’t deploy properly, sending you crashing into the debris-filled water much faster than anything that would be considered safe. Ice had watched, horror-stricken as you dissapeared beneath the surface of the water and never came back up. The seconds felt like hours before he was finally in the cold water, thrashing none too calmly in an attempt to get to you.

The fact that the pilot could no longer see your brightly coloured parachute terrified him to his very core. In one last ditch effort to locate where you were, Ice dunked his head under the water. Even though it was dark and the chances were slim, he was hoping he could at least catch a glimpse of you. Only when he was almost out of breath did he finally emerge from the water. All thoughts of his own safety were disregarded as he tried again and again to find you.

Dread settled in the pit of his stomach. The pilot had no idea what he was going to do if he lost you. He couldn’t even fathom returning to the carrier without you. You were his rock. The single most important person in his life. Sure, he had Slider. But you were there for him on nights when he woke up screaming, his mind plaguing him with terrifying images of losing you. Much like he was now. You were the person who made sure he was eating and sleeping instead of working himself to the bone. And he was just supposed to let you go? Not a chance.

One late night, you had showed up at Ice’s dorm in tears. That was the first time he had ever seen you like that and the pilot could still remember the horror he felt. It was eerily similar to how he was feeling now.

The two of you stayed up the whole night, talking about everything and nothing, all at once. That was the night that Ice first learned about your fear of oceans. Your father was in the Navy. It was why you joined in the first place. But it was also why you had the overwhelming fear that you just couldn't shake no matter what you did. You had lost your father in an accident just like this one.

When you were first selected to fly this mission with Iceman, he had confronted you about it. He wanted to be 100% sure that you would be able to handle flying that high-profile of a mission above the ocean. You had assured him that you would be fine and when he questioned you, you told him eight simple words. “I’ll be okay, Ice. Cause I trust you.” Those words seemed to echo around his head, taunting him for his failure to protect you.

Ice wasn’t sure how long he had been swimming back and forth in the water. He wasn’t even aware of how sore his arms had become. The only thing on his mind was you. A little soreness meant nothing to him as long as you were okay.

It could have been 20 minutes, it could have been 2 hours by the time the rescue chopper finally showed up. The men tried to haul Ice out of the frigid water but he wouldn't leave. Not without you. Against his wishes, he was pulled into the helicopter. The pilot was positive that he had never been more heartbroken and angry than when the chopper started to rise from the water. Without you. They were just going to leave you there. How could he stand for that?

Normally, Iceman wasn’t one to become upset easily and if you were to ask him, he would argue that he had a perfectly valid reason for his reaction. The men in that rescue helicopter had never heard such foul language before.

“How could you leave her!?” They tried to calm him down, insisting that there was another chopper right behind them with the sole intention of finding you. Ice didn’t care. He needed to be with you. He needed to know that you were still alive.

Even as the chopper continued back to the carrier, the men refused to tell him whether or not you were okay. He felt sick to his stomach. Usually, you were the one to make that feeling go away. But this time, you were the reason why it was there. His job was to protect you. You trusted him with your life. And he had failed. Needless to say, whether you lived or died, Iceman would never forgive himself.

a/n: thank you for reading! Join the whumptober taglist!

Tagging: @ohtobeleah @xoxabs88xox @els-marvelvsp @kmc1989 @nyx2021

[a-reader-and-a-writer]

Ice Cold

Whumptober 2022: 7. The Way You Shake and Shiver, 21. You’re Safe Now Fandom: Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, f!reader, Reader is Iceman's Daughter Word Count: 760 TW: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Freezing, Death Note: Thank you to @marvelousmermaid for looking this over for me 💖

You were so cold. Colder than you could ever remember being before in your life. You were shivering from the inside out and you were worried you’d chip a tooth if your teeth didn’t stop chattering so fiercely. But at least your body had gone so numb that the injuries from your crash didn’t hurt anymore.

The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on you. In a way, it was poetic that Iceman’s daughter, code name Snowflake, was slowly freezing to death. But after your plane went down, you were too injured to find cover from the cold or to build a fire. You barely had enough strength to drag yourself away from your plane in case a fuel line caused an explosion. At this point, you were hoping for one. Explosions meant fire, and fire meant heat.

Unless that happened, your only hope was a rescue team located you soon. Maverick had been your team leader for this mission and you knew he wouldn’t stop until he found you. Your godfather had never failed you before, so you just needed to hold out a little longer. Knowing him, he’d have rangled together every available airman to help with the search. 

It was becoming more difficult to breathe as the cold air stabbed at your throat and burned your lungs with each breath. Your vision began to blur and all you could see was the blanket of white stretching in front of you against the inky darkness of the night. 

But suddenly, something else came into your field of vision. Struggling to bring the world back into focus, you finally made out a pair of combat boots standing before you, and the person wearing them squatted down to your level. Giving you a sad smile, he said, “Hey, baby.”

“D-Dad…” you breathed in astonishment. “Wh-what are you d-doing here?”

“Where else would I be?” Iceman asked. “I had to come get my girl.”

You managed a small chuckle before your body was racked with another intense shivering fit that you felt down to your bones. Weakly, you chattered, “Dad…. I’m s-s-so c-cold.”

He rested his hand on your cheek. “I know, but don’t worry. I’ll get you someplace warm real soon. You’ve done good, kid. Now it’s time to take you home.” 

Bending down, he scooped you up into his arms just like he used to when you were a little girl. And as you leaned your head against his chest, you already felt his warmth radiating throughout your body. 

You hummed as you snuggled in closer to him, your shivering slowly fading away. “I feel better already.” For the first time, you looked up and really took in the man carrying you. What you saw made you smile. “You look good, Dad.” 

He returned your smile and said, “So do you, baby. Now, close your eyes. It’s all going to be okay.”

You nodded softly, suddenly overwhelmingly tired. With the warmth from your father wrapping around you like a blanket and the steady beat of his heart serenading you, you closed your eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

Maverick was the first one to spot you about a hundred feet from where your plane had crashed. The second he saw the drag marks in the snow, he had taken off running but because of the fresh layer of snow, he had almost tripped over your snow-covered body. 

Dropping to his knees beside you, he desperately tried to wake you, to find a pulse. But, despite his efforts, it was painfully clear by your blue-tinted lips and ice-cold skin that you were gone. That he had been too late.

He collapsed back into the snow and buried his head in his hands even as the emergency team began examining you. However, he knew there was nothing they could do. 

Tears began to well up in his eyes as he silently begged Ice for forgiveness. Since they had met at Top Gun decades ago, Ice had saved Maverick’s career more times than he could count. And the only thing in all that time that Ice had ever asked in return was that Mav keep his daughter safe. It had been the last thing Ice had said to him before he died over a year ago and, now, Mav had failed him. He had failed you.

And as he stared up into the night sky where the snow and stars seemed to merge into one, Maverick just hoped that wherever the two of you were now, you were together once more.

Taglist: @loverhymeswith, @babblydrabbly, @green-socks, @11thstreetvigilante, @merlehs, @sunshineflowerchild789, @wildbornsiren, @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy, @the-untamed-soul, @inglourious-imagines, @airhogger, @piscesvancouverite, @straightforwardly, @bonnieelizabethparker, @srry-itshockeyszn, @flyinlove, @fandomhopped, @sweetheartlizzie07, @yjwnoot, @wanderdreamer, @callsign-fox, @imjess-themess

[pollyna]

All of these prompts sound fascinating! Being super into Ice, I'd be really interested in 4, 15, 22 and 31, but any writing of yours is a gift.

It wans't in any of my plans to actually write on of that prompts AHAHAH but anyway i can't say no, but it's gonna be an extension of the prompt more than a ff? I'm probably going to go back on them at some point when the fucking inventary will stop killing me. So thank you so much for your kind words and i'm really sorry if it's not what you were expecting.

-#04: Can't pass out

"We had a pact, Admiral" a voice says, from the door.

"No. You, my husband, and my kid decided on something. I, for my part, didn't agree with anything. So no, no pact of any kind, Admiral Kerner."

"Thomas." 

"Ronald, what can I do for you today?"

"Cancer won't win because work will kill you first."

"I'm going to die anyway. At least you should let me choose how, what do you think?"

Ron knows that snapping back won't help, that Tom is just as concerned and scared as they all are. And he's tired. He was more tired than he let people see, but Ron had been around since Tom was nineteen, and he saw it all, so he knew.

"Come on, old man, let me take you home; we can eat takeout and watch stupid soap operas, and I won't tell anybody you fell asleep ten minutes into the night's most interesting movie," Ron says, and he knows he's won when Tom snorts back at him.

"Okay, okay. But only if you can get the chicken from that southern place on the Sixth." 

Ron doesn't say it but he would go to Georgia to take a single piece of chicken tender if that would help in taking Ice home.

Tom goes from standing up to almost face down on the maquette in half a second, the time Ron has to imagine himself flying to Georgia and back in time for dinner and thinking about how many laws he could break or not. Tom's body hits the ground but not with his face because Ron still has some reflex and grabs him before the worst can happen.

"I'm too young for this shit, Ronnie" Tom whispers, against his chest, a lifetime of silence after.

"I know Tommy, I know. But you have to stay awake and not pass out. Then we will go home and eat all the fried chicken you want" he answers, whispering too because he's sure that if he tries to talk out loud he will start crying and he can't, not right now.

-#15: New scars. This one it's gonna be a little more consistent but that's bc it's a fic I'm trying to write since forver and i'm constantly changing parameters on what i should or shouldn't do. But it's not the interesting part of it, sorry lol.

"I can try to do that." Tom nods as if he's trying to convince himself, and Ron has to count from five to zero before moving a single muscle.

5 old scars someone put on his body and he tells the story to Maverick + the 5 Maverick was around to see heal.

I.

He got the first one when he's five and running around with a plastic plane his dad took home after his n. mission he can't talk about but makes him angry and snappy with his mom but soft with his son, expecially when he passes his big, big, hands in his hair. He's running around the garden and then he's falling on his little plane, his mom is running towards him, his dad is screaming he's an idiot and toy is broke in two pieces and Tom doesn't know what he makes him cry the most: the blood he's loosing from his knee or he precious new toy that now lies between the grass without a wing.

His dad put the plane in the bin and doesn't listen reason when his mom tries to tell him that it can be easily fix and Tom gets a scar, a small and insignificant one that he will soon forget.

(Mav kisses it, during one of nights they have free and have no hurry be anywhere if not in bed. He makes funny faces evertime Tom tells the story on how he got it and Iceman laugh along because you're cute when you make that face Pete.)

II.

The second one Pete notices, this time they're making out on 'Wood terrible couch because everybody else is outside for a barbecue and it's too hot to stay inside but kissing Pete is worth even that, is just a little as the first one, mostly covered by his hairs and when Pete's finger trace it he almost jump because he forgot he was there and it still so sensitive. Pete notices but doesn't have the time to say anything because Tom is kissing him again and Ron is calling because dinner is read and if they don't move their going to have to eat grass!

(He tells Pete, a couple of hours and beers later, that high school hasn't been as kind as he likes to remember. And he talked too many, two, languages people didn't understand and Easter Europe heritage made him a commie every day of the week. He got in a fight more against a desk than the boy but they both got suspended but nobody ever tried to mess with him, after that day.)

III.

-#22: Caughing out blood.

The next one has a funny story that makes Slider a little wild when he gets around talking about it because he has the same one in the same place! Young, dumb and a day away from deployment they drunk too much shitty alcohol they find in the mess kitchen and tried to jump over the wall on the Academy. They both failed so bad they end up with both of their forearms bleeding a little and the instructor was soooo pissed, do you remember Tommy? He talked for hours and we had the mother of all headaches but Ice cold no mistake found the way out of that situation just looking at the guy. I could have kissed you right there for that.

He washed it three times, and there's still blood on it. The blood is on his shirt, on his hands, on his skin, and uncl-his dad is lying on a hospital bed, with too many machines connected to his body and an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. Deployment sucked this time around; the squadron was full of navy brats who wanted to know more about everybody. At least Phoenix was there.

They were eating outside, at some place on the ocean Mav found while riding his bike at three in the morning when Ice wasn't there, and that he promised made the best risotto seafood he ever tasted. They were laughing, drinking white wine, and his arm was around Ice's shoulders in support of Mav's last disaster when the older man started to cough. Once, twice, and then a third time, until Bradley felt his own blood running cold because there was blood. Blood on the tissue and then on his shirt because Ice wasn't fast enough to cover his mouth again.

And then Mav's hands were touching Ice and looking at him like he was trying to find an answer to a question Bradley didn't even know existed.

"Breath love breath. Bradley is going to drive us to the hospital, but I need you to continue to breath like the doctor showed you." He said, "Yeah, yeah, like that. C'mon Ice, I know you can do it." 

"Baby Goose, eyes here. I need you to start the car. We will be right behind you. Then you will drive to the hospital, and I'm going to explain everything, but I need to make sure Ice is okay before that. Do you understand Brad?"

"Ye-yes, pops. Car, hospital, and then you're going to explain it to me. Okay. "

Ice's eyes were glossy and concentrated on Maverick and Maverick alone.

"It's going to be okay, Baby Goose." Ice murmured, his voice low and cracked. 

-#31: You can rest now.

The idea comes to Rooster while on a little too much of a drug after they had to set his shoulder twice because the first time it didn't set right.

Once I'm out of here, we should all go and spend the night in the den. Nothing is as warm and comfy as the den. I miss the den. Can we go to the den, pops?" he asked, almost on the point of tears.

"Yeah, Baby Goose, we can go to the den." He answers, laughing a little.

"Okay pops, thank you" he answers before snuggling a little more into his pillow, with Natasha and Jake's fingers patting his hair.

-

The den is warm and, oh, how Bradley missed this place.

"So this is the den?" a voice behind him asks, and someone whistles.

"Yeah, yeah this is the den." Bradley answers before slumping in his favourite spot, the cat already stretching her belly to let him pat her.

"It's nice." Jake says, sitting beside him.

"Yeah, every house should have one!" Fritz adds "and a cat! Who's this beautiful creature? Bradley, why are you trying to hide all the beautiful people in your life from me?"

Everybody's laughing and it's like Bradley's eight again when Carole used the den to organise him birthday parties he wasn't supposed to know anything about.

But now he's thirty-eight and his mom is dead more years than she was alive and the people around him are his family in the way his uncles are and-and Bradley wants to lie in the sun and let himself feel something that's not anger for once.

And apparently everybody has the same idea because he can finish the thought that eleven other bodies cuddle around him and he loses the count of hands that are touching, patting, and massaging him, but it feels so good that he doesn't want to be anywhere else. Lady Carole curls on his stomach, the door opens, and soft steps are followed by the smell of warm cider and biscuits. Before falling asleep, he hears Mav and Ice on the sofa, softly conversing with Halo.

[sarahsmi13s]

Don't Leave Your Wingman

whumptober day 13: grief

pairing: pete 'maverick' mitchell x kazansky!reader (father figure relationship)

characters: pete mitchell, kazansky!reader, sarah kazansky

warnings: 18+ MDNI, language, mentions of cancer, canon death, death, fear of being alone, death of a parent, grief, 5 stages of grief, fear of losing family, loss of appetite, anger, mood swings, broken glass, throwing things, please let me know if I missed any

word count: ~1.8k

a/n: this is for whumptober! please please please proceed with caution and use discretion, protect your peace

also if you are on the whump taglist but are not familiar with a character, you can skip it will not hurt my feelings!

i am so so sorry i got this up late, please forgive me

whumptober 2023 masterlist

summary: you wouldn't leave your wingman in the sky... why should you on the ground?

“It’s come back.”

One sentence. Three words.

That’s all it took for the world to crash down around you.

Your father, your best friend, your wingman, was already dying. 

But with three words he was dead and in the ground.

You started the grieving process the moment your mother told you about the results of your father’s tests. His cancer was back and this time he wasn’t fighting it. So, start grieving now so it doesn’t hurt when he passes.

It should cushion the pain right?

No.

It doesn’t.

Because when you watched Pete Mitchell slam his wings into your father’s coffin, it’s like he’s punching them right through your heart.

You thought you prepared yourself better. Thinking ahead to how everything would be different. Going through the motions of him missing so much of your life, everything he wouldn’t be a part of. You were only 21, you had so much left to accomplish and celebrate with him.

He would never walk you down the aisle at your wedding. He would never meet your kids and tell them cool stories about the famous Iceman and show them his collection of medals and patches. He would never tell them the story of how he met his best friend and wingman, the friendship’s birth captured in a photo on his desk.

He would never tell you he loved you again.

You wanted to hear it one last time… even if it was in that broken, raspy tone.

“How is she?” 

You could hear your uncle talking to your mom outside in the living room. 

It had been a few days since the funeral and you had barely left your father’s office in the living room. You barely ate, your appetite coming in and out as you went through the motions. You just sat in the office, wrapped up in his blanket with his dog tags around your neck or clenched in your hand. You were nearly numb at this point, sitting and staring at the photo of you and him at your graduation.

You had hit the “depression” part of your grieving process. Denial, anger, and bargaining had passed when you learned about the return of your father’s cancer. But you were sure they’d resurface at some point, grieving is never linear and it’s not a short lived thing. 

But when it was something that you prepared for, something that you could see coming from miles and miles away? It should be easier right?

“She doesn’t leave that chair often… I don’t blame her. But I’m worried. You and Ron have been a big help with brightening her days,” you mom said, a gentle smile on her face at Mav. 

It was true, they both had been a huge help. Just sitting with you so you weren’t alone, that you had someone in the room with you also grieving – even if it was different. Both had lost a best friend, your mom had lost a husband. She sat with you too, holding your hand and making sure you weren’t completely alone. She made sure that even though you were both grieving, that you could talk to her. 

Mav looked into the room, seeing you in that position – curled up with your dad’s dog tags in your hand, lips pressed against them as you stared out the window. 

He gave Sarah a hug before walking towards the office doors and knocking before opening it. 

“Hey kid, how can I help today?” 

You shrugged a little bit, not having the energy to do much else. You sniffled and dropped your hand to the desk, pointing to a book that was resting there, “I um… I found that while going through some of his things…”

Sniffling again, you adjusted your blanket, “I can’t bring myself to read it… it’s all in his hand writing…” Mav nodded and came over, “I can read it to you, if you want.” “Please…”

“Would you want to go out on the porch swing? Get some sun, fresh air?” You looked up at him and he could see just how tired you were. You probably got a lot more sleep than you should have, or very little sleep that wasn’t good.

You looked at the photo on your dad’s desk, seeing him smiling down at your 18 year old self in your cap and gown, diploma in your hand.

“Yeah… yeah, that sounds nice,” you said, your voice a little lighter and the ghost of a smile threatened your lips.

Mav smiled and helped you up, grabbing the book and leading you to the swing on the front porch. 

You sat down with him, resting your head on his shoulder as he put the book in his lap.

As he began to read, you both began to notice that these were your dad’s stories. Stories you had heard from him, stories you begged him to tell you no matter how many times you had heard them… All there in a book.

You cried at first, so did Mav. But as he continued, reading your dad’s words and the side commentary he never failed to add, you both started to laugh. 

It was nice to laugh, it helped you begin to feel like everything was going to be okay.

“Today will be better.” 

That’s what you told yourself when you woke up the past few days. 

You could never tell yourself that it would be great or amazing. Because you knew you couldn’t make that promise to yourself. But you could always try better, your best would always vary from day to day.

And you were doing okay. You were making it.

Until Maverick showed up in his whites.

Your heart had sunk like a brick in your stomach.

You knew what those meant.

He was going out with them on the carrier.

That’s not so bad right? He would be safe right? 

But the look on his face as he stood in front of the office's french doors told you something else.

“I was picked as team leader to fly the mission.” 

The brick in your stomach started dissolving, making your stomach acid fizz and bubble up your throat. 

You shook your head, the dusting rag and photo clenched in your fist. “No, no you’re not.. You’re not flying this mission, Uncle Mav… You-you were just supposed to teach it.. You’re a teacher!”

He mirrored your movements, “Admiral Simpson-”

“No!” 

Your shout had startled him, you hadn’t raised your voice in any capacity for a while so your outburst startled him.

“I’m sorry, kid… There’s a chance someone doesn’t make it back and I would rather it be me–”

“So you have a death wish? Is that it? Can’t go one damn day without risking your life like no one is gonna miss you if you burn in, can you?” 

Maverick was unsure how to respond to that, standing there awkwardly as you yelled at him.

“You’re selfish, you know that? The both of you, fucking selfish,” you said, your voice cracking at the end as you poked his chest with the picture frame. 

“B-both… Y/N what-”

“You’re never supposed to leave your wingman… ever. So tell me why I’ve been left behind! Why everyone is fucking leaving me?!” 

In your anger you threw the photo on the floor, glass shattering and the frame breaking apart.

“He left me and now you’re leaving me too!” 

Mav watched the tears streaming down your face as you shoved past him and ran out of the office and out of the house.

Sighing, he looked down and noticed the photo under the shards of glass was the photo of him and Ice shaking hands after saving one another on that mission after graduation. 

“You can be my wingman anytime…”

After your blow up at Maverick, you ran straight to the beach.

The second your feet hit the damp sand on the shoreline you were collapsing to your knees. 

Clutching your chest, you sobbed.

“Why?! Why couldn’t you have just fought? One more time… for me! I need you Dad! And you’re gone! You left me here! And-and now you want to take Mav with you? It’s not fair!”

You fell forward, clutching at the sand, “It’s not fair!” You sobbed, not caring if anyone around you could hear you. You were in pain, you were now not only grieving your father, but you were now going to be grieving his best friend, your friend.

A pair of gentle hands pulled you back up into a seated position on your knees.

“Sweetheart…”

“It’s not fair, Mom!” You shouted, your voice raw with tears as you looked out on the horizon before looking down at the frothing tide, “It’s not fair…” 

Sarah felt tears sting her own eyes at the utter brokenness of your voice, the rawness in it.

She pulled you into her lap, shushing you gently as you sobbed into her neck. She looked up at the sky, “You better bring him home Tommy. Don’t you leave her without a wingman.”

The next week and a half was filled with dread and worry. 

Worry that Maverick would make good on that promise of being the one to die on this mission. Worry that it would be Rooster, someone you weren’t as close to but you knew he meant a lot to Mav. Worry that you would be alone, grieving another father figure.

You barely left the office, sat there in that damn chair looking at that damn computer screen. The last words he typed on it were still displayed.

“It’s time to let go.”

The five words felt like mockery as you read them over and over and over.

How could you just “let go”? Did he really think you hadn’t tried that? Or that it was that simple?

Because it wasn’t. 

You wish you could have just accepted it, that grieving someone as they sat in front of you breathing would have made it easier. But it didn’t. 

You felt like you were on the monkey bars again, the ground miles away from you and you were scared to fall.

“How can I let go when I have no one to catch me?”

As you waited in the silence, for a response that you knew wouldn’t come, a knock sounded through the quiet house. 

Your mom had stepped out to go get stuff for dinner. So you were the only one at home.

Sniffling and turning the monitor off, you got up and went to the front door.

When you opened it, you nearly collapsed.

There on your front porch was Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell. He was scraped up a little, but he was alive.

“Mav… Mav!”

He smiled as he caught you, keeping you from falling onto the ground and holding you close as you clung onto his bomber jacket, tears staining the vinyl. 

“You’re here… you came home.”

He kissed your temple, rubbing your back and cradling the back of your head.

“Of course I did, I couldn’t leave my wingman.”

taglist: @bradleybeachbabe @mayhemmanaged @kmc1989 @lovinglyeternal @horseshoegirl @cassiemitchell @fanboyswhore9 @nightowlalltheway @86laura11 @els-marvelvsp @valmare @startrekfangirl2233

hi, if you're seeing this and are currently not on the taglist and would like to be please fill out the taglist form -> whumptober taglist

i can not stress this enough, but whumptober can have some very serious and heavy topics and i want to make sure i am doing my part as an author to prepare my readers for what they are about to experience and that includes not only warnings above but my taglists as well

so if you want to be added check out the masterlist and read that carefully and fill out the form -> whumptober 2023

[topguncortez]

hi, welcome to the shit show.

✧ taglist form

✧ prompt list

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✧ rules

NO AGELESS, BLANK, OR MINORS ALLOWED

you will be blocked immediately.

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw Jake "Hangman" Seresin Robert "Bob" Floyd Natasha "Phoenix" Trace Beau "Cyclone" Simpson

Tom "Iceman" Kazansky Pete "Maverick" Mitchell Nick "Goose" Bradshaw Henry "Wolfman" Ruth

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