#mav's guardian angel

[huntmavs]

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icemav: we keep this love in a photograph

pain

[vannral]

icemav's ways to flirt: banter and longing looks

[reiverreturns]

it absolutely sends me how visibly confused maverick is when cain tells him he's been recalled to top gun. man is either as dumb as a bag of rocks labelled 'gay nepotism' or has been squeezing in acting lessons between deployments.

[torchflies]

Hi TG Fandom! 

Okay so, I want us to imagine a world where Goose doesn't die, where the good luck that has followed Maverick his entire life is enough to save them both. 

Maverick, who has miraculously survived the craziest things over the years and continues to do so. He was soloing under a lucky star long before Ice became his guardian angel. 

Imagine they go through Ice’s jetwash the same as before and they go into a flat spin, Maverick is pinned down and can't get his hands free, Goose has to eject them, but his fingers are slipping, fumbling before he finally yanks down on the cords. The canopy gets sucked in too close to the body of the jet with the position they're in, it can't clear completely and Goose screams blindly because he knows he’s going to die. 

He knows he's going to collide with the canopy, but instead he feels like he's curled into a person. 

It’s too warm and all he sees is a flash of dark hair and scared green eyes in the chaos. Mav, what? He's horrified that Mav is somehow in his arms, did their chutes get tangled? He doesn't understand. But he fumbles his hand up, grabbing Mav’s tags just in time for the canopy to collide with Mav’s back. Goose screams until he’s suddenly in the water, he's lost time and there's something clutched in his hand. But Mav grabs him, drags him up on his chest. 

“We’re okay, Goose! We’re okay!”

And they are okay. 

They get out completely unscathed and it’s only when they're on deck, shivering like wet rats, that Goose finally opens his hand. It’s a pair of dog tags — kind of. They're old, and barnacles have grown on the metal and stuck both tags together. It doesn't make sense. 

Mav looks at him like he's lost his marbles when he mentions how their chutes tangled up. 

He feels like he's nuts. But when Goose shows the tags to Viper in the base hospital and tells him what happened, the hardened old man seems to crumple before his eyes. 

It’s only then that Goose notices a class ring, an USNA class ring dangling from that crusted chain. There’s no stone, but he would recognize it anywhere. Mav… Mav didn't go to the Academy. 

“Sir?” Goose asks. 

Viper just mutely shows him the tags, the barnacles peeled away to reveal a notch and the words: 

[redfurrycat]

What-ifs n°2

Remember Warlock's introduction from the movie?

Now, picture this:

Your instructors are one of the finest flying duos this program has ever produced.

Their exploits are legendary. What they have to teach you may very well mean the difference between life and death.

I give you the reunited - specially for this mission: Captain, Pete Mitchell, call sign, Maverick, and Admiral Nick Bradshaw, call sign, Goose.

What are your thoughts regarding what happened during TG and in-between? How does it impact TGM?

(What-if n°1)

[abottleofsoysauce]

Watching It's a Wonderful Life for holiday, and this is the first time Clarence the guardian angel who's trying to get his wings strikes a nerve more forceful than dear old Jimmy.

[paxdracona]

Whoop, another one :3 Mav's literal guardian angel, bristling with protective anger. Inspired by @polar-equinoxx's 6-winged Ice which is a Mood ♥

Lookit Mav, he's hurt but on the Good Drugs AND he's getting quality cuddles so overall he's pretty content right now. Good for him ♥

[theg-unit]

Currently on a TopGun kick at the moment as my flat mate is rewatching it and while I was waiting for ao3 to come back online I was having a little think about my baby boy (rooster).

in the world where IceMav raised Brad together after his mums death (which I’m personally ballparking at age 9 for maximum angst), and where maybe they didn’t set him back or they did and reconciled far quicker, I’m in love with rooster being Iceman’s son. Sure everyone sees the obvious dressing like goose, and maybe he flies more like maverick in this universe (no perch in sight), but give me a Bradley that was raised by Tomas Kazansky.

Cause realistically speaking, Mav is on deployment most of the time. Ice taking a promotion keeping him on the ground, but moving around, taking Brad with him, globe trotting navy-brat Bradley, raised by his flyboy uncles. And maybe he rolls his eyes like his uncle slider and howls laughing like his uncle Wolfe but you look at him schmoozing at a navy ball, effortless charm with admirals much more powerful than him and the daggers and that’s all Iceman. And maybe when they’re off mission and some find themselves in trouble, Rooster narrows his eyes and finds a few extra inches of height somewhere, and this overly chill, slightly dorky pilot becomes ice cold and calculating. His words and gaze tearing its target apart.

Show me a Bradley who is a few years older than the other daggers and decides that these idiots are going to need a guardian angel and now is a good a time as any for all his lessons with ice to pay out. After all the COMPACFLT is retiring soon and Bradley needs to start climbing if he wants to stop all his morons from getting discharged.

[marisatomay]

Remember when we all walked into Top Gun Maverick and thought it’s so nice that Mav and Ice said they were wingmen 30+ years ago but they probably fell out of touch at some point because this isn’t fanfiction and SIKE turns out those old losers are still so close they text each other every single day of their lives and Ice is commonly known as Mav’s guardian angel

[whohasthecards]

Hangman, like Mav, was always sent on suicide missions. However, unlike Mav, Hangman didn't have a guardian angel like Iceman or the other Flyboys who would have his back after Top Gun. And unlike Mav who had the Flyboys, Carole, and Bradley, Hangman didn't have anyone to look forward to after his deployment. He had Javy, but Javy would move on.

It would be better if he was the one who died. No one would mourn him. No one would miss him.

That changed with the dagger squad

Hangman got sent on a last minute mission where the Dagger Squad, and even Iceman were not informed until he was already flying in the air.

Once Maverick and Iceman reviews the details of the mission, their blood went cold once they both realized that the mission was unnecessary reckless, and dangerous. It was bad enough to be considered a suicide mission.

But it was too late to call off the mission, it was all up to Jake and his team now.

Mav and Ice spend their days worrying, especially with Ice burying himself in paperwork trying to figure out how this flew under his radar. The Dagger Squad notice their tenseness, but they weren't told what was going on because Mav and Ice didn't want to worry them.

During the mission, Hangman broke several rules and direct orders to save his colleagues and by extension, his life, and he got a dressing down immediately after landing his jet. He wasn't brought to the sick bay, he was immediately brought to the office for an extensive debrief, where all of Hangman's actions were scrutinized and judged. Hangman stayed calm.

Maverick and Iceman arrive because they were keeping tabs and come in while Hangman was getting yelled at. Maverick looks at Jake, taking note of his disheveled looks and tense jaw, and how behind his steely gaze was an undercurrent of deep exhaustion. Iceman noticed how the commanders were reaming into Jake for every single, little, thing, when it was a miracle that there was no casualties on their side. Jake's actions saved the mission that was destined to fail, and saved the lives of the other aviators.

Maverick and Iceman loses their shit.

How dare they not care about their aviator? How dare they recklessly send them to unnecessary suicide missions? How dare they act pissed at the aviator that save the mission and their lives?

---

Mav felt a hand on his shoulder, stopping his tirade at the Admiral in front of him. He turned and his glare softened once he realized it was Jake, unsteady on his feet, but gently holding him back.

"What is it, buddy? You can sit down, you don't have to keep on standing," Mav fretted as he tried to get Jake to sit down on the chair.

"It's okay, pops," Jake said giving a small smile. "I was the best choice for the mission, especially missions like this, it's better that they send me, instead of someone that has a family."

"No." Iceman simply said. "Don't say shit like that Lieutenant Jacob Seresin."

"But it's true--"

"Enough, Jacob, it is not true, and we will be discussing this later," Ice sternly said as he turned back towards the admirals. "No one should have been sent to a mission without enough preparation and analysis, and you shitheads barely did any. You made my aviator fly, blind. Your careers are done for."

"Come on Jake, let's get you to the sick bay, let Ice take care of this, okay?" Mav said forcefully leading Jake out of the room to get the care he needs.

---

(Once Jake gets back stateside and the rest of the Dagger Squad finds out what happened, he gets showered by affection from all of them proving that he has been missed and he will be missed.)

[mafiatsunafish]

what is more frustrating than a Maveric with his admiral angel guardian Iceman?

a Maveric with his admiral angel guardian Iceman and his wingman Slider who is also an admiral

the admiral duo have more than enough to clean up after their tiny pilot shenanigans 

(Hangman: Roo, why tf is adiral Kerner kissing pops while he is sitting on admiral Kazansky lap?

Rooster: because uncle sli is mav boyfriend while mav is ice husband? sli and ice are partners? 

Hangman: what-?)

[raethereptile]

Maverick pisses off another Admiral.

But instead of trying to ship him off to Antartica or somewhere equally unpleasant, this Admiral sits him down.

"Ok, what's going on Mitchell? Because, your guardian angel normally would have called by now."

And Mav just breaks down.

Sobbing his fucking heart out, and the Admiral just *oh god what have I done* panic pats him on the back and makes soothing noises.

The whole thing comes out, Ice's cancer, Mav not being there for him because he pissed off an Admiral at the wrong time and now he's stuck here and he's trying goddammit but the Navy doesn't want what he's got not really and ice is the only one who sees his worth and that so fucking selfish because it shouldn't be about him not right now but I can't do this without him and how he should fucking be there but what good will he be when all he does is cause trouble but ice shouldn't be alone I'm his wingman goddammit and what if he dies oh god oh god oh god-

Later, much later, after Mavs been sent to his bunk, the Admiral sits at his desk with a finger of whiskey and thinks why not.

Ice looks up at the nock on his office door.

Maverick walks in, sheepish but with worried eyes. He's fiddling with the file in his hands nervously.

"What are you doing here? Oh god, did you piss off another Admiral? What-"

Mav clears his throat, "I've been reassigned."

"Goddammit! Where? You know I need to be told as soon as possible to mitigate the damage! Why didn't anyone call me? Why didn't you call me?! Where-"

Mav hands him the file, "Captain Mitchell, reporting for duty, sir."

Ice freezes.

He opens the file.

Mavs been reassigned to work for him, if he wants him.

Oh.

Oh.

He looks up and smiles.

[pollyna]

Ice's jar of favours contains all the names of people who own him, but after a while, it starts containing pendrives, too. Generally small, in plain colours to not be noticed and protected by three different kinds of passwords. Only Ice knows them because they aren't written anywhere else if not in his memory.

Mav never asks what is in them, and Ice doesn't offer, but his secretary knows, and there's always a strange air around the office when one of them gets to be unlocked but Mav always walks around, after the Admiral makes the call.

What scares everybody is how many of them are in the jar. In the thirty years, Admiral Kazansky's is playing Maverick's guardian angel, the jar it hasn't been once more than half empty.

(The day Mav retires, and Ice follows, the jar comes with them, in their home and on Ice's desk. He doesn't need them now, but he knows how to share them with the people he most trusts, in the right moment.)

[thatsrightice]

Okay but someone write an AU where Maverick and the daggers carry out the mission as canon, Maverick gets shot down saving Rooster and then Rooster gets shot down saving Maverick and cue the whole “I saved your life” “No I saved your life” debate. They steal the F-14 and fight off the fifth gen fighters but when the last jet comes at them and they have no flares and Rooster is pulling on the ejection handles but “they’re not working, Mav” suddenly the enemy jet explodes and emerging from the carnage isn’t the F-16 of Hangman, no, it’s an F-14 and there’s confusion cause why the f*ck and how the f*ck and who the f*ck- but then there’s that oh-so-familiar “yeehaw! great balls of fire!” that has Mav desperately trying to spin around to look at Rooster who’s got his hands up pleading ignorance and then there’s this ice-cool, calm and soothing voice telling Mother Goose to calm down that has Maverick now believing they must have died and this is heaven (or maybe hell?). They’re close enough to each other that they can make out the young heartthrob that is Tom “Iceman” Kazansky and the eternally young Nick “Goose” Bradshaw both of which look straight out of the Top Gun days like the guardian angels they are.

[paxdracona]

Thank you @polar-equinoxx for the galaxy brained 6-winged Ice take you graced us with, im obsessed ♡♡

Back to my quick sketches we gooo~ we have an enamoured Mav still in gleeful disbelief about his literal guardian angel, we love to see it ♡

[the-ace-with-spades]

Mav finds out people call Ice his 'guardian angel' and starts teasingly calling him angel, too, whenever they see each other, but angel sounds less and less like teasing and more and more like fondness as the years go on.

I haven't done a thing wrong in my life, angel. How are you doing, angel, still bored out of your mind behind a desk? Hello, angel, long time no see. Would you like some coffee with your breakfast, angel? I miss you, too, angel.