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call-sign-shark · 1 year

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I love your stories! Could you please write some more father figure mav and platonic dagger squad? Xx

awwww thank you so much anon, this one is for you! Me love cute platonic fluff, it's just so heartwarming ;w;

✨ Ohana Means Family ✨

Summary: During a movie night, the Dagger Squad fights over which movie to watch. While observing them, you realize that you, who never had a family, finally found one.

Words: 1k

Tags: PURE FLUFF, Platonic love, family fluff, DadMav and his Dagger kids // reader super close to Hangman

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“But I don’t want to watch a horror movie!” Hangman complains, crossing his arms on his muscular chest. Bob lowers his head, disappointed.

“You never listen to any of my suggestions anyway.” He says with a little voice, readjusting his glasses on his nose.

“Bob, you ALWAYS suggest horror movies. Last month we did a Saw marathon. And you were the only one enjoying it. Payback almost fainted.”

“That’s not true! I was just… Just tired!” Payback retorts from below. He is sitting on the floor, holding the bowl of popcorn between his legs. He has already eaten half of it, even if the movie had not started yet.

“What about a Disney?” Phoenix suggests.

“To hell with Disney, it’s been two weeks we only watch Disney movies.”

“Come on, everyone likes them.”

“The problem is not the movies themselves. It’s Rooster constantly singing the songs during and after the movies.” Hangman rolls his eyes, laying on the sofa with his head on your lap and his legs on Coyote's.

“Fuck you, Jake. At least I don’t choose spaghetti westerns.” Rooster growls, also sitting on the floor. He is braiding Shark’s long blonde mane with surprising patience.

At one point you stop listening to the argument. When a dagger suggests a movie, another one immediately complains. This is a vicious circle. Yet, your Y/EC eyes carefully observe everyone while your hand absentmindedly pets Hangman’s blonde hair. He had just closed his eyes, almost purring at your touch. Sometimes he winces when he hears a movie title he does not like.

“Star Trek?”

A pillow flies across the room and hits Fanboy right in the face. The WSO shakes his head, looks dagger at Shark, and throws it back. You don't need to listen to the conversation: you know he probably suggested the old Stark Trek movies. After all, that is why you all call him Fanboy. The pillow flies again yet Rooster and Shark slightly tilt on the same side simultaneously, avoiding the pillow.

“And what about a musical?”

Judging by the storm of protests, Coyote understands that his tastes in movies are far from winning unanimous support. You cannot help but smile, your fingers still massaging Hangman’s head. A faint and amused smirk appears on your beautiful lips: It is the same hilarious struggle each night. The Daggers would reunite in the living room and fight over the movie to watch, while Maverick would prepare snacks in the kitchen. Popcorn, nachos with guacamole and cheese, and fresh beers.

You suddenly feel a cold and wet muzzle sniffing your free hand. You take a quick look at your left side, only to see Crashtest’s big face looking at you with his shining beady eyes. His large mouth is open, tongue hanging. You chuckle when looking at the dog and finally run your free hand through the pale fur of his neck. Here you are, forced to pet both Hangman and Crashtest.

Crashtest is a big beige American Pitbull whose owner is Shark, but he quickly becomes the family’s dog. She called him so because, when he was a puppy, he would run everywhere and bump against the walls.

A soft sigh escapes from your lips as you realize that you have found a family. A broken, small, and weird family… But a true one.

“So, what are we watching tonight?” Mav’s voice echoes in the living room and snatches you from your thoughts. He obviously knows that no one managed to reach agreement. He lays the plates on the table and raises an eyebrow while looking at the young pilots scattered in the room, “Are you serious? Alright. Since you can’t decide…” He pauses and his emerald eyes fall on you, “Y/CS? What do you want to watch? You have the last word.”

Surprised, you look at Mav, then at the Dagger Squad, and then at Mav again. To be true he had caught you off guard.

“So?” Hangman asks. He had just reopened his eyes and is now looking at you with an adorable yet slightly cocky grin, his head still comfortably resting on your lap.

“Lilo and Stitch.” You say out of nowhere, suggesting the first movie that had crossed your mind at this moment. “I want to watch Lilo and Stich.” You repeat, and this time you are delighted with your choice. It seems like a perfect movie for your adoptive family.

“YESSS!” Phoenix and Rooster exclaim. The dog barks happily, wanting to join the party. Surprisingly enough, everyone kind of agrees with you. Even Hangman, who has complained about Disney movies twenty minutes ago.

“Lilo and Stich.” Mav concludes, visibly satisfied with your decision, before letting his body fall on the huge L-shapes sofa he had bought to welcome all his kids at home. Doing so, he forces Hangman to move in order to avoid getting crushed by him. The blonde pilot growls and, sitting next to you, wraps his muscular arm around your shoulders. The feeling of his warm skin against yours is soothing. With butterflies in your stomach, you snuggle against him. You and Hangman have been closer these past few weeks since you saved his life during a mission.

As Maverick grabs the remote and scrolls to find the movie, all the daggers join him, Hangman, and you on the couch no matter if they have to snuggle against each other to all fit. Lilo and Stitch’ s intro starts and fills the room with the sweet melody of He Mele No Lilo. Before focusing on the movie, you take a quick look across the room.

Phoenix’s head rests on Bob’s shoulder.

Payback, Coyote, and Fanboy are nudging each other, trying to hold their laugh.

Rooster keeps playing with one of Shark’s braids while her hand gently strokes Mav’s thigh.

As for you, Hangman keeps you in his arms. Hugging you as if his own life depends on it. His sweet and masculine fragrance tingles your nostrils.

Another bark: Crashtest climbs on the couch and the gentle brute rests his head on your lap.

A soft smile stretches your lips.

They are your Ohana.

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t-nd-rfoot · 2 years

Text

BABY ON BOARD aka The Youngest Dagger

Hangman wasn’t exactly wrong when he said ‘Bob’ meant ‘Baby on Board’.

Warnings mentions of alcohol, but nothing excessive; insecurity of feeling left out. this has a happy ending, i promise

Word Count 2.6k

Note inspired by my research on the TG:M cast’s ages so I wanted to use this as my own twist on the whole ‘baby on board’ prompt for Bob! (though Tarzan is actually the youngest being born in September but for the sake of this story, my HC is that Bob is the youngest). I pretty much just trusted the process with this one. A writing exercise, if you will. Edited myself so apologies for any typos/errors! Also, it’s my v first fic, please be kind

If you enjoyed this, please reblog! Reblogs are the best way to support creators (writers, artists, gif makers, everyone!) on this platform. Share the content, share the love!

There’s no denying that much about Bob at a first glance was ‘baby’—his big blue eyes that gave off the innocence and curiosity of a newborn, his wallflower personality like one of a child’s on their first day of school, and his enthusiasm for aviation could rival a toddler’s on a sugar high.

Of course, the more people got to know Bob, they’d realize he’s anything but. But no matter how old he was, that didn’t change the fact that he was the youngest of the dagger squad, and they never let him live down that fact since the day they found out.

Being the private person he is, Bob celebrated his birthday as if it was any other day. Had he been anywhere else, he would have maybe had a nice, simple dinner with his big extended family back at home, or made plans with a special someone if he had any.

But since he had to prepare for another mission in Miramar on that particular birthday, personal affairs naturally took a backseat pun intended as he focused on the professional matters at hand, making sure the aviators around him remained unaware of the day’s importance. He was almost in the clear when he and the squad were leaving the hangar at the end of the day, and he chose then to busy himself replying to all the birthday messages from his friends and family.

“Well, someone’s Mr. Popular today,” mused Phoenix at her backseater.

“Huh-what?” Bob startled as he looked up from his phone.

“Dude, you’ve been glued to your phone since after your last run,” Fanboy chimed in.

“Yeah, everything okay, bud?” Payback asked.

Careful not to give anything away, Bob subtly fell a few steps behind to keep his phone out of view from prying eyes. “Yeah, all good,” he replied with a small smile and went back to texting.

Never missing an opportunity to make fun of their teammate, Coyote and Hangman huddled Bob on either side to take a peak at his phone screen as Bob comedically tried to dodge their attempts.

“Aww, keeping secrets from us now, Floyd? Hey, one round from everyone else on who can figure out what Floyd’s hiding,” Coyote joked, “I say, spicy texts?”

Hangman scoffed, his famous shit-eating grin plastered on his face, “please, I bet the spiciest thing in little Bobby’s phone is an email subscription for special-made BCGs.”

Bob rolled his eyes as he finally escaped the grasp of the two pilots and opened another birthday email, this time, a flashy e-birthday card GIF from his great-aunt Lacy and uncle Taylor. He laughed to himself, humored more at the idea of his less-than-tech-savvy relatives discovering GIFs than at the actual GIF on his screen.

“No fuckin’ way,” a voice came from behind him, susprising him so much, he nearly dropped his phone. “It’s your birthday?!” Rooster exclaimed as he peered at the phone from over Bob’s shoulder.

At this point in their friendship, each of them had already had a birthday, so shock and disbelief hung on their faces as they stopped in their tracks and turned to face him. They couldn’t believe he nearly let one year as a group go by without even telling them when his birthday was.

“What the fuck?!”

“Dude…”

“Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Bob nervously stared at them as they stared back at him. “It’s just—the mission’s coming up and with the drills today, and I’m not really one for celebrating my birthday, anyway—” He struggled to find an excuse when Coyote and Hangman appeared beside him again.

“Look, Bob,” Hangman led, “I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re all used to your whole not-sharing-anything schtick, and we’re cool with it.” But as the cocky pilot placed an arm around Bob’s shoulders, Bob braced himself for whatever bullshit Hangman was going to say next. “But to deprive us of our only opportunity to finally get you wasted?” he continued, that obnoxious grin returning to his face once more.

Bob’s blushing complexion immediately paled at the squad mimicking Hangman’s wide smirk as they all looked at each other wickedly.

“Ohhh no, no no no no n—” Bob’s blue eyes popped, attempting to get out of the group’s grasp while they pushed him in the direction of The Hard Deck, his protests drowned out by the group’s whoops and hollers all the way to the bar.

The Hard Deck was packed when the squad arrived. Maverick was at his usual seat at the bar, flirting with Penny like young lovers while she served drink after drink to customers.

“Penny, my dear!” Hangman practically shouted from the entrance. Payback and Fanboy pushed Bob to the front once they reached the bar.

“Guys, seriously, it’s not a big deal,” Bob protested still.

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” Maverick greeted his old students.

“We got a birthday boy on our hands here, Mav,” Rooster mused, his hands resting on the shoulders of an embarrassed and defeated Bob.

“Oh yeah, that’s right! Happy birthday, Bob,” Maverick greeted and patted Bob on the back, to which the young aviator replied a shy thank you.

“You knew?” Payback asked.

“Of course, it was in his file,” Mav said like he was stating the obvious.

Hangman turned his attention to the bar owner. “A round of shots for the squad if you will, Penny? One for every year this son of a bitch has been alive.”

Penny smiled at Bob and, setting shot glasses on the counter, “and how many would that be?”

“Just to make sure, you are legal, right, Bob?” Maverick teased.

Bob and the rest of the squad laughed. “No, yeah, yeah, very much legal, Mav.” Bob settled into the bar stool and started to relax a little more.

“So c’mon, man, how old are you?” Fanboy asked.

“29,” Bob replied. There wasn’t much use hiding that he was the only one still in his 20s, now that they all knew what today was.

A mixture of disappointed and endeared reactions came from the group—as the oldest of the squad, Payback and Rooster let out a few groans, while Hangman and Coyote let out low whistles. Phoenix and Fanboy gave noogies to and pinch the cheeks of their little brother. Penny and Maverick laughed at the group’s reactions knowing that the rest of the group weren’t that much older anyway.

“I know I’m older than most of y’all, but why did hearing him say a 20-something age make me feel even older?” Rooster wondered, pondering his mid-30s age.

“How do you think I feel?” piped in Payback, dwelling on the fact he had just entered his early 40s.

Maverick and Penny laughed. “Welcome to the club,” she said, making the two pilots groan even more.

Penny finished filling up the shot glasses in front of them. “Alright, gang, 29 shots ready to go and on the house! Consider it a gift, Bob,” she joked.

“Thank you, Penny!” Coyote joked back in a high-pitched voice, swiping a shot glass for himself.

Bob silently gulped at the sight. “This isn’t all for just me, is it?” He dreaded the thought of having to drink all of those in one night.

“Of course not, you really think we’re gonna pass up a free round from Penny?” Hangman said as he got one and started passing them to the other members. Penny loved to remind them that being Mav’s special students didn’t get them free drinks.

Soon, everyone had a shot in their hand, ready to toast the celebrant. Though the non-drinker he is, Bob toyed with one of the remaining glasses on the table, reluctant to drink but also not wanting to spoil everyone else’s fun.

“Only if you want to,” Phoenix assured her backseater.

Bob looked around at his friends all around him. He still couldn’t believe that they were there to celebrate him, the quiet small-town-kid with a natural talent for being invisible. Even after the uranium plant mission, Bob always questioned if he really belonged to their little team. But now, here they were, making him the star of the night when they could have easily said their greetings and went their separate ways for the day. He looked down at the shot glass, welcoming it as a sign of proof for himself that he finally found his place among them, proud to be included in—and even the center of—the squad’s newest core memory.

“One shot,” Bob decided, albeit a little nervous, and reached for the drink, “just this once.”

“Baby steps,” she smiled back. The guys cheered, excited for Bob to take his first drink with them.

Maverick stood, one hand on the young pilot’s shoulder, the other raising his shot glass in the air. “To Bob! May he have a great rest of the night, an even greater year ahead. Enjoy the last of your 20s, Bob!”

“To Bob!” everyone cheered and downed their shots. Bob even managed to drink his shot without coughing, though a little disgusted at the slight burn in his throat.

Cheers and pats on the back came from all around as the group greeted the wizzo once more as they decided to take the party to the dart boards and pool tables. Bob stayed behind at the bar for a bit, taking in the events of the night and holding his now-empty shot glass with a little more certainty than earlier. But he was quickly brought back to reality as a glass of water and a small cup of nuts were placed in front of him on the bar.

“Happy birthday, Bob,” Penny greeted before serving the other patrons.

Bob thanked Penny with a grateful smile, and replied to a few more greetings on his phone before joining the others in their games.

The squad spent the following days showering Bob with their late birthday gifts.

First—surprisingly—was Hangman, who stuck a ‘baby on board’ sticker with a badly drawn party hat and glasses on the baby, to the side of Bob and Phoenix’s plane. Still high on the birthday fun from the night before, Bob was amused at the phrase-turned-inside-joke, though, he did tear off the sticker before Cyclone could see it. Little did he know that Hangman actually slapped another sticker to the back of his helmet when the pilot pretended to congratulate him and Phoenix for completing the drill. It actually took awhile for him to notice, but even after discovering it, he didn’t tear it off.

As TOPGUN’s resident sweet tooth and kid at heart, Coyote was actually a bit bothered once he realized that Bob didn’t have a birthday cake, since it is a universal sweet tooth rule, after all, that the best part about birthday parties is cake. There was a bakery just at the edge of the city that made—what Coyote considered as—the best cupcakes in California, a statement he stuck by after his third visit in a row since finding the place. On his latest visit, he asked for another box of assorted flavors and a candle and brought them to The Hard Deck the next day after training. Bob was excited, to say the least, after he discovered the chocolate peanut butter cup cupcake, and shared the rest of the treats with everyone else.

Payback was nearly stuck on ideas when he got inspiration for his gift from a literal baby. He was on a video call with his sister and spotted his goddaughter entertaining herself with her wooden blocks. As soon as they hung up, he searched online for the best Lego fighter jet set he could find, and found a store nearby that had some in stock. Building Legos was an absolute favorite pastime of his that he was a firm believer that no person was ever too old to build Legos. “Lego knows no age!” he told the judgmental store clerk when he bought it. Bob actually had a mini freakout over it and insisted that he help him build it. Every now and then when they had a few days off, they’d look for another Lego set to build together, dividing up the collection they had built.

Fanboy—being Fanboy—got a custom Funko Pop bobble head pun definitely intended of Bob, which actually managed to make him look even more like a child with those big eyes on it. The two wizzos shared an interest in comic books and various sci-fi media, so he threw in a few comic books from his personal collection to lend. He and Bob would trade whenever new issues would come out, though Fanboy did have to try to stop giving away spoilers since Bob would actually throw mini tantrums every time he accidentally slipped one in their conversations. Bob proudly displayed the bobble head on his nightstand and read the comics every night before sleeping.

Being an only child, Rooster spent his childhood wishing he had a sibling to play sports with, only to gain many of them three decades later in the form of the Dagger Squad. He figured from dogfight football that Bob was a lot more athletic than he let on, so he got him his own baseball glove and bat so that they could play catch together during breaks or days off. Bob developed quite the arm on him from their practices that he was always Rooster’s first pick whenever the Navy officers decided to play baseball at the local park. Other times, they’d also watch Padres games either together or with the other members, usually fighting each other to catch a fly ball if it was hit in their section.

Last, but definitely not least, was Phoenix. If she had it her way, she would have given her gift the day after Bob’s birthday, but she took quite some time preparing it. As Bob’s most trusted friend in the squad, she wanted to give something a little more sentimental. So she compiled and printed as many pictures of him with her and with the rest of the squad as she could and placed them in a ‘baby’s first album’ book (she was going to place it in a regular album but once she saw that the blue hardbound was on sale, she just couldn’t pass up the opportunity). Bob actually teared up looking through it that he didn’t even mind the little blue teddy bears printed on every other page. He also emailed pictures of the album to share with his parents.

There’s no denying that much about Bob at a first glance was ‘baby’, a characteristic he was reminded of daily—by the baseball equipment by his closet, or by the bobble head and comic books beside his bed; by the nearly-finished f-18 Lego set on his desk, and by the bright yellow sticker on his helmet sitting by the front door; by the leftover cupcakes in the fridge, and by the photo album on his coffee table. To an outsider, these were mere objects—possessions that gave glimpses of the person who owned them. But to Bob, these objects were so much more; they were testaments that showed that his teammates really thought more of him beyond their teasing and jesting.

No matter how old he was, it didn’t change the fact that he was the youngest of the Dagger Squad. Yes, people still realized he was anything but a baby when they got to know him. And yes, he still most definitely rolled his eyes every time he was called ‘baby on board’ out loud. But in true ‘youngest sibling’ fashion, every time he looked around at his chosen brothers and sister, he realized he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Disclaimer I do not own Top Gun: Maverick or any of its characters. Please do not copy my work or translate without my permission.

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