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thewulf · 1 year

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What a Look on You || Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw

Summary: Y/N and Rooster are best friends. Two of the closest best friends you'll ever see. The squad tries to get them to admit their feelings, with no luck. Y/N's friend comes into town stirring the pot up a bit.

A/N: Well I'm kind of blown away by all the sweet comments you left on my first Top Gun FF. So I decided to crank another one out for you guys! This time featuring our lovely Bradley Bradshaw. I'll def write a part two to Who are You? Just give me some time :)

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Y/N

Word Count: 6400+

“Come on Gigs, he clearly likes you.” She paused looking you up and down, “Hell, he might be in love with you.” Natasha smirked after sinking yet another pool ball.

“Shut up, Phe. He doesn’t like me, and he certainly doesn’t love me.” You sighed grabbing the pool stick from her. You eyed the stripes, took a deep breath, and miserably missed.

You heard her laugh from behind you, “Too busy thinking about Rooster?”

You lightly shoved the pool stick into her side shaking your head, “No, I was thinking of ways to murder you.”

“You wish, I’d beat your ass. Don’t even try.” She threw a wink in your direction.

You nod silently, “Not disagreeing with that.” Natasha was just stronger than you. Not that you were tiny and weak but there was something so frightening about Natasha Trace that you wouldn’t even think of crossing her.

“So, you agree then?” She asked waiting on your answer patiently.

You groaned shaking your head, “No Phoenix, I do not agree with you. The man doesn’t have feelings for me. That’s it.”

“What man?” The annoying voice of Hangman spoke up from behind you.

“Rooster.” Natasha grinned making kissy faces in your direction.

“Oh no shit, that man is in love with you.” He nodded one hand with a beer the other in his pocket.

“Not you too.” You threw your head back in defeat, “He’s just my best friend. That’s all.” Truth be told you wish it was more. You’ve wished it would be more for years. He was everything to you. He was the man of your dreams really.

He was thoughtful. Oh, was he so thoughtful. He remembered the smallest details about you, making you feel like the most special person in the world. One of your favorite memories with him was when he invited the whole class to his place to watch some football. He had made pulled pork but remembered you didn’t really like pork. So, he pulled you aside and handed you a bowl of shredded chicken. Your heart nearly burst into pieces then, you had only known him a few months and just knew he was it.

He was also so incredibly sweet. One summer when the two of you were walking Virginia Beach, not too far off base, he noticed a little girl drop her ice cream near the vendor. He didn’t hesitate to try and calm the poor girl. He bought her a new cone and quickly gave it to her calming her meltdown. You couldn’t wipe the stupid cheesy grin that laced your face.

He was soft when you needed him to be but hard when he saw you hurt. He was protective of you, so protective of you. He couldn’t bear to see you hurt. He really did think the world of you. He never wanted to lose you. But you never thought to much of it, he just acted like a big brother would.

The two of you met in school. Rooster to be a pilot. You attempted to be one, but you were rather quite miserable at it. So, you tried your hand as a WSO and found your groove with that. Rooster always claimed he didn’t need a WSO but was always so happy to have you along when he was ‘commanded’ it. The pair of you clicked instantly. He always made you laugh. In fact, that’s how you got your callsign ‘Giggles’. He made you laugh when you were in drill, getting you in trouble way to often. You really didn’t mind though; you were so infatuated with the man.

Days turned into months turned into years. The two of you dated different people at different times never really finding the right time to get together. You settled on best friends who literally knew everything about one another. You really did want him but just like him, you couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.

“Besides,” You looked at the two of them, “Carly is coming into town, and I need to worry about that. Not him.”

Jake smirked, “Is she that pretty one you post sometimes.”

Rolling your eyes you nodded, “Yes pig. She’s my pretty friend. She’s off limits for you Hangman.”

Laughing he eyed Phoenix suspiciously, “That’s not your decision sweetheart. It’s hers.”

“Why are you so annoying?” You wanted to punch him, but you restrained yourself knowing better than to crack open that can of worms.

“Relax. Has Carly ever met Rooster?” He questioned.

“No. She’s met nobody here. I went to college with her and really haven’t seen her since. But she lives close so we recently reconnected. Thus, why she’s on my Insta Hangman.” You admitted, way too much. You weren’t sure why you divulged all that information.

He nodded, “Speak of the devil.” His eyes flicked towards the door which your eyes followed looking to the man entering the bar. Your face broke out into a wide grin seeing Roos in his usual Hawaiian shirt, looking relaxed on this fine evening.

“I’d say she’s in love too.” Phoenix laughed.

“Shut up!”

“I can’t believe you get to look at these guys every day.” Carly whispered ogling nearly every aviator that walked by.

“Every damn day. They’re more like brothers than anything. God, they’re all so annoying.”

She nodded, “Could be worse. You could be looking at Phyllis all day every day.” She laughed which you joined in on. Carly was traditionally beautiful. She was tall, thin, blond, and athletic. Everything came natural for her. Things were just easier for her. You were always slightly jealous of the girl but tried your hardest to let it go, you did a good job at hiding it.

“That’s true. No Phyllis’s here.”

She grinned turning back to the front, a small commotion coming from the entryway. Of course, it was Rooster and Hangman arguing. The two of them were always bickering about something.

“Who are they?”

“Two idiots.” You laughed.

“Wow,” She finally tore her eyes from who you thought was Hangman, “He’s beautiful.”

“Which one?” You asked peaking your eyebrow up in curiosity.

“The brown-haired guy.” She grinned turning back around to eye him. The pair were still caught up in whatever argument they were in as they walked to the bar for some beer.

Your heart sped up a bit, surprised she wasn’t talking about Jake. They always went crazy for Jake, not her Rooster, “That’s Bradley. Rooster.”

“Oh wow, Y/N. That’s your best friend, right?” She looked at you wide eyed.

“Yep, that’s Roos.”

She nodded, “You didn’t tell me he was drop dead gorgeous Y/N. Is he single?”

“Yeah, he is a cutie and he’s single.” You nodded trying your best to sound less than enthused about the whole situation.

“You wouldn’t be mad if I went and talked to him then, would you?” Her eyes brightened as she looked back and forth between the two of you.

Why would she want to do that? You knew Rooster was a catch, it confused you as to why he wasn’t snatched up just yet. It didn’t seem to bother you that a stranger at any time could go up to him and win him over but Carly? That was too much for you. Way too much for you. “No, no I wouldn’t mind.” You lied again refusing to turn and face her. You were being incredibly weird, and you knew it.

“I’m surprised you’re not going for the blonde though, seems more your type?” You spoke up just before she started to walk away. Making any attempt to stop the girl from wooing over your Rooster.

“He’s cute. But there’s something about Rooster. I can’t place my finger on it.” She smiled brightly waiting anxiously for you to let her go talk to him.

Your stomach clenched but you ignored it nodding her on, why were you your own worst enemy? Why were you letting her do this? You knew the second you said it wasn’t okay that she would drop it. You didn’t know why you were being such a chicken shit about the whole thing. But ten years of friendship was hard to give up knowing just how good that friendship could be.

You sat on the high-top chair anxiously tapping your glass attempting to look anywhere other than the bar where Rooster, Hangman and Carly were chatting. Your leg bounced up and down slightly shaking the whole table in your attempts to look the other way.

“You okay Gigs?” A soft voice spoke breaking you out of your trance.

“Hmm, yeah totally fine.” You smiled seeing Bob appear at your side. Bob was always so sweet to you, always looked out for you. You had also known Bob from early on in your career. The two of you being the quietest WSO’s in your respective classes and always getting shit on for it. You tried your best to protect him, and he did the same for you.

He sat down opposite you following your line of sight right to the bar, “What’s the matter?” He asked again waiting for you to open to him. Truth be told you and Bob were close as well. Not as close as you and Rooster but you weren’t afraid to be honest with him. He really felt like a brother to you, a protective one at that.

“Nothing Bobby.” You looked back at him continuing to play with your glass.

“Bullshit Y/N.” He challenged you leaning forward.

“Uh oh, Bob breaking out the real name. I must be in trouble.”

He playfully rolled his eyes, “Somethings up, you looked like a maniac there for a second.”

“I just got distracted.”

“By what?”

You eyed him knowing what he was doing, “My thoughts.”

“Is that why you were staring at Rooster and the girl?”

You sighed, your shoulders slumping just a hair, enough so that Bob noticed, “I wasn’t staring Bobby.”

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes finding the right words to tell his friend, “You are a being a fucking idiot Y/N.”

“Bobby!”

He looked you dead in the eye, “Y/N, I’m being serious. You’re hurting yourself now. You’ve loved that man since I’ve known you. And I’ve known you for almost eight years Y/N.”

“I can’t Bobby. I can’t lose him. I can’t risk it.” You looked down at the empty glass coming to that full realization, you didn’t have it in you. The worst outcome is that Rooster would walk away and that was way worse to you than the slight chance he might like you back.

“Come on Y/N. He likes you too. You just don’t see it because you’re so used to it. Rooster would do anything for you.”

“There’s nothing there Bob. It’s been ten years, there would have been something. I’m his best friend. He’s mine. That’s it.”

He groaned, “Fucking idiots. Both of you.” He threw his head into his hands trying to get you to realize what was right in front of you.

“Jesus whose dog died?” The southern draw from the annoying blonde pilot spoke from behind you.

“What are you talking about Hangman.” You looked at him like an annoyed sister would. If looks could kill yours would.

“Bob here looks miserable. Guess that’s just you bringing out the best in people.” He winked setting his glass down between the sitting pair. You turned around seeing Rooster making his way over slowly with Carly. You held in your disappointment and channeled it to the second most annoying thing in the room.

“Charming as ever Jake.”

He decided to stop after seeing the sadness in your eyes. You thought you were great at hiding your emotions, turns out your damn facial expressions gave you away like a book. “You love my southern charm darling.” He gave you a side hug attempting to bring the snarky Y/N back out, not the mopey one.

“Yeah, yeah.” You nodded looking at Bob who was simply observing what was going on around him. You were sad. Hangman caught onto it and tried his best to cheer you up, Hangman style. Rooster seemed enamored with Carly and Carly seemed just as enamored as him as they walked up to the small high-top table. You looked like you were about to combust when you saw where his arm had landed, right on her hip drawing her closer to him. You flicked your eyes to Carly who was smiling at him. You then looked at Rooster who of course was staring right back at her, even when they got to the table.

“Roos, nice to see you.” You said all too bitterly before hoping off the chair refusing to look at him. “I’m getting another, anybody need anything?” You just looked at Bob, ignoring the rest of the group.

“Yeah, I’ll come with you.” He followed grabbing his empty glass. What you didn’t see was the hurt look that crossed Rooster’s face after the unfriendly greeting. He couldn’t recall a time when you had spoken to him that way, your voice was always so sweet and kind. Even when the two of you argued you never had sounded so upset before.

“You didn’t have to come, I just panicked.” You admitted once you got to the semi-crowded bar.

“Because you don’t like him.”

“Uhh, shush. You know I do. Just shut up about it.”

He grinned, “It’s nice to hear you finally admit it.”

“Shhh, Bobby, lower your voice. You know, you’ve known. You’re the only person I’d admit it too though.” You waved the bartender down for another round, not seeing Penny tonight.

“Y/N has a crush, Y/N has a crush!” He whisper shouted in your ear.

You wide eyed him, “Shut up Bobby, I will beat you up.”

He started full on laughing now, “Why do you always threaten violence, Y/N?”

Your mouth fell open in disbelief. Who was this Bob and where did hers go? “Bobby, you’re being a little shit right now.”

“I’m just excited you finally fucking admitted it Gigs.” He clapped your back.

Shaking your head, you picked up your beer and slowly made your way back to the trio that had taken over your high top. Rooster had backed off Carly a bit.

Rooster grinned when he saw you walking back over with Bob, “Giggles.” Still grinning with that big, beautiful smile he had.

“Roos.” You nodded your head sitting back in your seat next to him, returning the smile as best as you could.

That worried him, your half smile did. It was different. If there was anything he noticed in this world it was when you acted different. It was always so easy and normal between the two of you. He could pick up when something was off, he just knew something was off.

“Have a good day?” He asked you, just you. Looking right at you, the staring was almost too intense for you. You in turn also noticed things with Rooster. Like right now, him boring his eyes into the side of your head was certainly new.

You hummed, “Fine, except Cyclone was up our asses all day today.”

Bob nodded in agreement, “Some new wizzo training he’s getting us all on.”

“Seems like a bunch of bullshit to me.” You continued, “But can’t talk back to Cyclone. No siree, no.” You took a long drink from your beer. It was really hitting the spot today. You glanced up and Rooster was smiling at you. You nearly forgot about your poor friend Carly, standing there clueless.

“Sorry Carly,” You smiled at her, “Wizzo is WSO which is what Bob, and I are.”

“Right!” She laughed, “Weapons people, right?”

Hangman chuckled, “The best damn weapons people we got right here.”

“Aww, is Hangman being sweet?” You cooed at the tall blond.

“That’s what I have tell myself, since you are the only two left here.”

“You asshole.” Bob laughed smacking his arm.

“Not that you guys aren’t the most fun but there’s a pretty little thing over there that just walked in, so if you’ll excuse me.” Hangman winked over at Bob before sauntering off, surely turning up the charm, to the girl.

“Oh Hangman.” You laughed turning your attention back to the group, “And your day Roos?”

“Same old, same old.” He laughed running a hand through his hair. You attempted to hide your ogling eyes, why did he have to do this to you? It’s not like he hasn’t run his hand through his hair a thousand times before you. You willed your brain to just stop thinking of him as more than just a friend, but it might finally be rebelling against your wishes. You didn’t want to blame Carly for the green-eyed monster that was threatening to spill out, but she was the only difference in the group.

“Mav kick your ass yet again?” You smirked watching for his reaction.

“Hey now, Giggles. I’ll get him one of these days.”

Shaking your head, you eyed Bob who was having all too much fun watching the two of you go back and forth, “Statistics say you’ll have to beat him one of these days.”

He pointed his finger at you playfully smirking, “You just know exactly what to say.”

You shrugged looking back to Carly, “Roos can’t beat his instructor, Maverick. Bit of a running joke at this point.”

“Don’t poison her mind Y/N!” He gasped pulling her tight. Ouch, that hurt, you noticed. You noticed how easily they seemed to mesh, how Carly’s face lit up when she was pulled into his side, how he seemed more than pleased with himself holding onto her.

“You’re already doing that Rooster.” You force a laugh knowing just how unnatural it sounded.

“So, Y/N, Bradley was telling me about all the different places I should check out when I’m here.” She grinned looking up at him with her big brown doe eyes. You bit your lip forcing yourself to stay civil.

“Oh yeah? Like where?” You asked genuinely curious of what he had said to her.

“A few beaches, the museum, the base and didn’t you say something about a cliff?” She asked pulling on his arm getting him to look back to her. He obliged nodding his head like a little kid.

The cliff? Your cliff that only you and Rooster seemed to know about and made sure not to share with anybody? He mentioned your spot to her. It seemed as if the air had gotten knocked out of your lungs. You hadn’t defined that the cliff was your spot but neither of you brought it up to anybody else. It stung, it hurt, and you quite frankly didn’t know how to react. You fought the stupid hot tears that wanted to flood out of your eyes.

You set your halfway empty glass back down onto the table, harder than needed. Which of course caused both Carly and Rooster to look at you. You faked another smile and muttered, “Why doesn’t Rooster just show you?”

Bob sat back in his seat curiously watching the situation unfold before him. He noticed Carly light up at the suggestion again pulling on his arm, “That’s a great idea Y/N!”

You curled your lip fighting every damn emotion that wanted to spill out, “Chock full of them.”

Rooster laughed trying to ease the tension he could clearly see coming from you, “Are you sure Gigs? I don’t want to take time away from you and Carly.” He asked placing his hand on yours.

“Oh, I’m positive Bradley, go have so much fun.” The words came out just as bitterly as before. You were testing him, and he was failing you miserably. You knew it wasn’t exactly the fairest test. You weren’t communicating with him, you desperately wanted him to see what you were doing, but he didn’t see it.

“If you’re sure.” He tried to grab your hand again which you slid away just in time. You looked back up at Bob with the saddest eyes he’s sure seen. Again, you refused to look over at Rooster, you knew the waterworks would be out in full effect if you did.

“Mhmm.” You hummed chugging the rest of your beer, “I’m going to go.” You spoke more to Bob than to Carly and Rooster.

You quickly gathered your things and started walking to the door head full of every scenario imaginable. What if Rooster liked her? What if he decided to start dating her? You shuddered at the thought. Of course, it would be Carly to come swoop in and take him away from you. Carly was playing life on easy mode; she could get whoever she wanted whenever she wanted.

You made it about halfway to the door before realizing you drove Carly here. You sighed and turned around seeing Bob silently sitting there with his thoughts watching you while Rooster and Carly seemed very into whatever they were chatting about.

“Rooster.” You shouted not wanted to walk back over there and deal with it, “Bring Carly home. Or don’t, whatever.” You mumbled the last sentence, hoping he really didn’t hear what you had to say.

He gave you a thumbs up sending another kick to your stomach. Spinning around on your heel you beelined it for the door now. Once out of the bar the fresh air hit you like a ton of bricks, a few tears escaped. This really wasn’t how you thought this night would go. You thought Carly would be all over Hangman or one of the other pilots, not Rooster.

You hopped in your car mentally thanking yourself for parking on the opposite side of the bar, away from any windows. You sat there and let yourself cry it out. They were silent tears. You didn’t want to breakdown in the parking lot of the Hard Deck, but your emotions were simply getting the best of you now. You had to wonder why you were feeling this bad now, you’ve seen Roos flirt with hundreds of girls and take them back to his place, why did Carly freak you out so much?

You don’t know how long you sat there but it was long enough for you to hear a knock on your window. You almost jumped out of your seat looking over to see Bob standing there with his hands in his pockets.

“Bobby?” You asked while sniffling.

“Let me drive you home.”

You shook your head, “No, I…”

“Y/N.” He just looked at you. You let your shoulders fall before unbuckling yourself. You got out and moved yourself to the passenger’s side, letting Bob take the driver’s seat.

“Bob, I can really do this myself. I’ve done it a thousand times.”

He rolled his eyes while starting your car up, “I called your name three times Gigs, you’re not fine.”

“I am fine, I was just…”

“Thinking?” He interrupted seemingly agitated with your responses.

“Yeah Bobby, just thinking.” You hummed looking out the window.

The ride back to your place was mostly silent, just the radio chatter buzzing away. You weren’t sure what to say. Bob sure as hell didn’t know what to say. He simply observed two adults who clearly have feelings for each other continually put both of themselves in pain watching the other. It didn’t make sense to him. He was sure Rooster had feelings for you, deep feelings, although he’s never directly confirmed it. He also knew that you liked him, having finally admitting it to him.

He pulled up to your place off base, he didn’t live to far from you. He was planning on walking home and finding a ride back to the bar tomorrow. He couldn’t let you drive seeing how zoned out you were, how distraught you really looked. He had to wonder if this was a regular occurrence for you. He didn’t really see the longing in your eyes before tonight.

You started to get up, he realized he needed to say something quick, “Y/N, I’m not the best at giving advice. But I think you need to tell him. You’re tearing yourself apart over this.”

You turned away from him thinking for a moment, “What if he leaves me Bobby? I don’t think I could go on. I really don’t.” A fresh set of tears started making their way down your red cheeks. You turned back to him shaking your head.

“Hey Y/N.” He frowned seeing you look so small and broken. He was never good at this, women crying, it always overwhelmed him, “He would never leave you. He loves you.” Bobby squeezed your hand softly trying you to get you to understand what he saw day in and day out.

“I’ll think about it.” You mumbled finally opening your eyes to him.

He nodded with a smile on his face, “Good, that’s a start Gigs.”

You used your cardigan to wipe the tears off your face, “Thank you Bobby, for everything. Really, thank you.”

He gave you his genuine Bob smile, “Anytime Giggles.”

You smiled back at him remembering when you were ‘officially’ assigned your callsign. Rooster stood diagonally in front of you in drill. Every time the Captain would turn away, he would make a remarkably stupid face which made you laugh, a little too loudly. Your poor ass caught the end of Captain Warmack’s really bad day. You started giggling trying to hide your face, but Warmack caught you. He stood right in front of you, squatted down and started berating you. You had to take it, in front of the whole class. You were sure your face was as red as a cherry tomato. At the end of his yelling he said, “And all you do is giggle, giggle, giggle.” Sparking the callsign in Rooster’s head. He profusely apologized when you were dismissed and you shrugged him off telling him, “It took everything in me not to laugh Roos.” And the pair of you were cracking up. Officially earning your callsign Giggles. You didn’t hate it, but you certainly didn’t love it, you were growing to love it. Over time it got shortened down to Gigs, which you embraced whole heartedly. You were worried that the name made you seem weak, but it did the opposite, people saw you as approachable which gave you many opportunities over the years to show how good of a WSO you really were.

“Night Bobby.” You said as the two of you exited the car, “You can drive my car home if you want.”

He shook his head, “It’s a ten-minute walk, I might need you to drop me off at the Hard Deck tomorrow though.” He sheepishly grinned.

“Anything for you Bob.” You waved while entering your home. It wasn’t really your home; you were renting it out from a couple while you were here. You weren’t sure how much longer you would really be here anyway. The mission was over, half the squad was already reassigned. You knew your time was ending and it terrified you that you would be shipped away from Rooster yet again. The two of you had managed to get deployed together often but not every time. Your stomach was always in knots whenever you were due for reassignment, just hoping you’d be close to him.

You looked at the clock frowning seeing it was only 8, you really did plan on being out for a while longer. You decided on pampering yourself tonight seeing as that was the only thing that could get your mind off Carly and Rooster. You turned your phone to silent and set it by your bedside not wanting any distractions. You picked up your favorite book deciding a nice long soak in the tub was exactly what you needed. After spending far too much time soaking you decided to just read and go to sleep. Your eyes closed around 10 that night, failing to turn your phone over since you had gotten home.

What you didn’t see were the frantic texts from Rooster making sure you were okay. He has probably texted you 15 times between the time you left the bar and when he was dropping Carly off. You were clearly upset trying to play the whole thing off as nothing. So, he decided to text you to make sure you were alright. An hour passed and the conversation with Carly was fine. She was a beautiful woman, but she didn’t hold a straw to you. After the first hour he sent a few more texts, just hoping for a response but to no avail. He distracted himself by taking Carly down to the beach showing her a few things. He wasn’t really going to take her to the cliff, it kind of just spilled out when he was talking to her earlier.

After another few hours of faking it with Carly he decided that he needed to check on you. It was nearing 10 and you still hadn’t texted him back which sent a little terror through him. Once he pulled in, he let Carly know he was just going to talk to you. He walked in enjoying the smell of your home. It always smelled like lavender, just like you did. Rooster was sure Carly picked up in his disinterest, he wasn’t trying to blow the girl off he just needed to make sure you were okay.

You were sound asleep when you heard a soft knocking on your door. Annoyed you rolled back over willing yourself back to sleep, but the knocking wouldn’t stop, “I’m sleeping Carly.” You spoke softly hoping she would just go away.

“Not Carly.” Rooster’s voice spoke through the door.

You internally groaned not ready for whatever this was, “Yeah Roos?”

“Can I come in?” He asked leaning his entire body on your door.

“Sure.” You spoke while still laying down, not feeling like moving.

He quickly opened the door taking a second for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He smiled seeing you laying there, looking so peaceful. You were still clearly trying to wake yourself up.

Yawning your stretched out while Rooster took a seat on the other side of the bed, “What’s up Roos?” You rolled over turning your body to him fluttering your eyes, trying to keep them open.

He looked sad, “You didn’t answer my texts.”

“I haven’t looked at my phone since I left the bar.” You admitted, almost whispering. Is that why he was here?

“Really?” He asked looking anywhere but you, “I texted you a lot.” He sighed looking down at his hands.

You bit your cheek to stop the stupid grin that was going to give you away, “I’m sorry Bradley, I was just tired and… yeah just tired.” You stopped yourself from spilling everything, just tired, that was all.

“Are you okay?” He asked leaning back into your bed turning himself to face you now, far too close for your poor little heart to handle.

You nodded, “I’m fine.”

“You just seemed so upset at me when you left the bar.” He stated in an almost whisper matching your nervousness.

“Did I?” You asked softly deciding to break the eye contact you two were making.

“Mhmm. Really upset and if was something I did…”

“No, it wasn’t you Roos. It’s me. I just…” You stopped this time feeling the emotions coming back stronger than ever. Your throat tightened up and you could feel your stupid eyes beginning to water. You quickly flipped around so you were facing him anymore to take a deep breath. Again, this was perhaps the last thing you expected to happen to you tonight.

“Hey, hey, hey, come back to me Y/N. You can tell me anything, you know that.” He placed his warm hand on your shoulder squeezing it tightly drawing you back into the room.

“If I tell you what I want to tell you it could ruin everything Rooster.” You whispered letting a few tears fall.

He could tell you were crying. It nearly broke his heart in two. He hated when you cried, he hated the boys that would fuck with you and break you down. He couldn’t stand it. It freaked him knowing that he was likely the source of your tears, “You could never ruin anything Y/N. I promise.” He cooed still holding your shoulder tightly in his hand, afraid you would vanish if he let go.

Here goes nothing, “Bradley I…” You took a deep breath before continuing, “I was jealous tonight.” You closed your eyes waiting for him to respond, so afraid of what his reaction might be.

He didn’t respond right away which sent your mind into a million directions all at once. You felt him get up from his spot on the bed, finally letting your shoulder go. This was it, he was walking out on you. How could you be so stupid? How could you ruin the one good thing you had, the best thing in the world?

“Y/N,” You felt him pushing the hair away from your face catching you by surprise, “Please open your eyes.” He stated.

You obliged, sucking in a breath when you saw just how dangerously close he was to you now. He was squatting down to the floor. His head was level with yours.

He grinned seeing your eyes snap open, “There you are.” He spoke so softly. Continuing to brush the hair out of your face putting you into overdrive. You weren’t sure how to deal with the utter intimacy. Sure, you and Rooster were close, but this was so different. He was looking at you like you really were the only thing that mattered. His palm felt so warm against your face you were sure you were about to combust.

“Here I am.” You looked away from him again. This was something. Any sort of courage you had was gone. This was your Rooster, yet you couldn’t even look him in the eyes for more than a second.

He cocked his head ever so slightly waiting for you to continue. You took another deep breath making sure to avoid his face when you exhaled, he was so close to you just waiting. Waiting on you to make the next move.

“I wanted to be her Roos.” You took a gulp ready to let it all spill now, “I was so jealous when you wouldn’t take your eyes off her. When you pulled her close. I was a stupid jealous girl who didn’t and still doesn’t know how to say this.” You groaned in frustration eyeing him to see his reaction. He looked happy, content, almost thrilled at the admission, so you continued, “I… I like you, Rooster. I like you way more than best friend should and uhm I…” You faltered.

He placed a finger over your mouth smiling as big as you’ve ever seen him smile, “My turn. I love you, Y/N. Not just as a friend, I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you for as long as I’ve known you.” He looked right at you. You were struggling to process his admission to you. He loved you. He was in love with you. Your heart couldn’t keep up with your mind that was spinning in a thousand different directions.

“You do?” You managed to squeak out in the mess your mind currently was.

He nodded with his big goofy grin taking your head in both of his hands, “I’m so fucking in love with you Y/N it hurts and jealousy is quite the look on you.”

“Oh, wow.” Is all you said before you started cracking up. The relief that flooded through your system was twenty times stronger than any adrenaline rush the Navy gave you. The laughter was one of sheer bliss. Like you were floating through clouds, and you never had to land. You were sure your smile reached all the way up past your eyes. You placed your hands over top of his, which were still cocooning your face.

He joined in as well. The relief of knowing how the other felt about each other was nothing like anything the pair had experienced before. After a few minutes of Rooster making you laugh harder you finally came down from the high you were experiencing. He had yet to release your head from his hands. This time not afraid you would disappear but in euphoria that you admitted your feelings, he wanted to touch you for forever.

The laughter died down and two idiots were left looking at one another just smiling, finally admitting what had been building up for literally a decade.

You hummed rubbing your thumb along the back of his hand noticing the chills the rose when you did so, “I think I love you to.” You nodded your head, “No, I do love you. I don’t think I do. I love you, Bradley.”

That was all it took for him to let go of your head, gently of course. He scooped you like you didn’t weigh a pound from your laying position and brought you close to him, bridal style, “I thought I’d never hear those words coming from those beautiful lips.”

You turned your head into his chest to hide the insane blush that was inevitably covering your entire face, “No, no, no, don’t hide that face from me beautiful.” You could feel him laughing as he held you in his arms.

“That’s not fair.” You turned your head to take another good look at him. Your Rooster. Your beautiful Rooster. Who was holding you so gently in his arms. You hugged him tightly not wanting to let him go this time feeling like this was all too good to be true.

He pulled you closer to him in response, “Penny for your thoughts?” He asked in response to your actions.

You shook your head, “I just don’t want to let you go Bradley.” You smiled looking up to him. So happy. You were sure this is the happiest you’ve ever been in your life. Your Bradley. You were going to get to tell him you loved him for forever and you really couldn’t wait. You were going to get to wake up next to him, when you weren’t off on missions, every day and you really didn’t want to wait, “Stay with me tonight?”

He nodded rocking you back in forth gently in his arms, “I’ll stay whenever you ask, whenever you need me to.”

Your smile got even bigger if that were even possible, “Can you kiss me now Bradley?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

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playbucky · 1 year

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Navy Boy, Army Girl.

Three army medics have been stationed on the ship that Hangman and Rooster have been stationed on for the past month. Y/N and her team have been placed in the middle of the ocean as a half-way marker for any seriously injured soldiers. Characters – Reader (Ghost), OC Abi, OC Jenkins, Hangman, Rooster, Phoenix. Word Count – 7.1k (this is only part one.) A/N - I finally got it to work!!!

‘What’s with the heli?’ Rooster asked, moving into the spot next to Hangman as they watched it land. The force of the wind from the blades caused the few people that stood around cover their faces, before the doors were pulled open and three people jumped out. Heavy bags weighing their shoulders down. The first two ducked their heads, worried about the blades catching them but the third didn’t react. They overtook the other two and shook the admiral's hand. They had a short talk before the four of them marched over the deck. ‘Army medics.’ They both said almost disappointed, watching the group of four before they disappeared inside.

‘Have you saw them yet?’ Rooster asked, Hangman raised an eyebrow and shovelled his food into his mouth. ‘Who?’ He asked, Phoenix whacked his arm when she saw his munched food. ‘The medics?’ Rooster asked, Hangman swallowed as Rooster glanced at Phoenix who silently shook her head. ‘No, you?’ He replied. ‘Not but Sergeant Kimble had to go yesterday and said it was like three supermodels. The one that treated him was supposedly an angel.’ Rooster said, Hangman arched an eyebrow. ‘Seriously?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘An angel? That can’t be possible – they’re army.’ Hangman commented, Rooster smiled. ‘I can punch you, and we can go and see.’ Hangman suggested, Rooster thought about it but stopped. ‘Or we could just look now.’ Rooster said, jabbing his fork behind Hangman. He turned along with everyone else in the room and fell silent. A man and woman talked to each other, then lifted three trays. They started filling them up before a third walked in. She was having an in-depth conversation with whoever was on the other end of the phone call. Her eyebrows furrowed deeply but smiled at her colleagues when they asked her a question. ‘The one on the phone?’ Rooster asked, Hangman nodded. ‘She’s the boss.’ He said, ‘Sergeant said she was called Y/N or that’s what they were calling her.’ Rooster explained, Hangman turned back to him. A shrilling alarm went off, breaking through the minimal conversation that was happening. Everyone turned back to them and watched as Y/N and her crew apologised to Jim as they set their trays down and took off running. Y/N almost ran into someone but skilfully dodged them, apologising and keeping conversation on the sat phone.

‘Can I help you ladies?’ You called out, they definitely weren’t ladies, their wide shoulders blocked the doorway as they tried to look into the room. ‘No.’ The taller one with black hair said. ‘No ma’am.’ The blonde replied, you nodded as you pulled on the blue gloves. ‘Good, now move out the doorway.’ You told them, waving your hand hoping they moved quickly. Rooster and Hangman shared a looked before they walked away, following the narrow corridors until they reached the others, joining them on going to the small gym that was stationed aboard. ‘Any luck?’ Payback asked, they both shook their heads. ‘No.’ ‘The admiral has called a meeting at sixteen hundred hours.’ Payback said, the pair nodded.

‘Admiral?’ Rooster greeted him as they entered the meeting room. ‘Why do we have medics on deck?’ He asked, Simpson rubbed his lips together. ‘We’ve always got them.’ He replied. ‘The specialists.’ Hangman added, flipping the toothpick around his mouth. ‘Our carrier is the closest to the field, any serious injuries will be brought here to be as stabilised then sent to a hospital.’ He informed them, Rooster and Hangman shared a look. Then the knock at the door broke it, the team turned and watched as you and your medics, stepped into the room. ‘Admiral.’ You greeted him, your eyes bounced over the group. ‘Army Medic Y/N Y/L/N this is Lieutenant Seresin, Lieutenant Bradshaw, Lieutenant Trace and Lieutenant Floyd.’ ‘Nice to meet you, these are Doctors Abigail Smith and Henry Jenkins.’ You introduced your small team. ‘We know how territorial you guys get when another branch is on your ground, you won’t have to worry about us.’ You told the group, the blonde that chewed on the toothpick turned to tanned skinned officer next to him. ‘Trust us we won’t be seeing much of each other, and we’ll be stuck in bay.’ You told them, their intense stares didn’t up. ‘So, you aren’t going to be playing nurse?’ Toothpick said, you gaze snapped to him as you watched him roll the wooden pick along his bottom lip. ‘Hangman.’ Low voice warned him, you arched an eyebrow. ‘As much as I’d love to wear that skimpy outfit just for you Hangman, our patients come to us when it’s life or death.’ You told him, you could see his eyes glisten with mischief. ‘I’m sure they’d love meeting an Angel when they're on their death beds, dainty hands and pretty smiles as they get their bodies rubbed.’ He added, you watched as the team silently groan and shake their heads. ‘Keep making the jokes and I’ll leave you to rot, I’m sure the sharks would enjoy a Texan boy for dinner.’ You commented, his team held back their laughter as you kept a straight face. ‘Admiral.’ You said, giving him a polite nod that he returned whilst fighting a smile, before you turned and followed Abi and Jenkins out.

‘Fuck.’ You cursed, the soldiers blood arched into the air and caught your apron and uniform. ‘Lieutenant?’ You called out, the blonde stopped at the door. ‘Yes?’ He asked, you hand your hand stuck in the man’s leg, the shrapnel had gone further in than expected. ‘You able to handle blood?’ You asked, he took in the blood that was across your chest. ‘Yes.’ He replied, you nodded and turned your head, rubbing your chin across your shoulder. ‘Good, get in and hold this together.’ You told him, his eyes widened. ‘I shouldn’t I don’t have any training.’ He said, you scrunched your face up. ‘Do you want this man to die?’ You asked, his gaze dropped down to the unconscious man. ‘Pinch it.’ You commended as you gestured to the large hole on the soldiers leg. ‘Shouldn’t your team be doing this?’ He asked but listened and stuck his fingers in, only then did he notice how ashy the man’s leg had become. ‘My team are dealing with another two.’ You told him before you both fell into silence. Jake watched as you moved your fingers about the man’s body with ease, finding the source of the continuous flow of blood before you grabbed a needle and thread. Jake’s eyes widened as the man moaned and tried to wriggle but you ignored him, you pulled the needle taunt and cut the thread. ‘You can let go.’ You said, Jake listened and removed his fingers from the man’s leg, his shin and lower half of his thigh already looked pinker as the blood managed to flow into it. ‘Wash up.’ You said but didn’t lift your head as you worked on stitching the gash together. Jake listened and walked over the sink, the water automatically flowed and he watched the red tainted water swirl the hole before it disappeared. ‘Lieutenant, thank you.’ You told him, he nodded and left the large room.

‘What are you doing here?’ You asked when you spotted Hangman lingering in the door way. ‘I thought I’d give you food, I haven’t saw at the break room since your first day.’ Hangman said, you looked at the boxes of food. ‘Thank you, but Jimmy delivers stuff to us.’ You told him with a smile. ‘You seem to have everyone wrapped around your fingers.’ Hangman commented, you scoffed and shook your head. ‘I wish, Jimmys stressing about his with wife.’ You told him, he watched as you pulled the tight headband down over your head before you pushed it up, pushing the any stray hairs away from your face. ‘Is she okay?’ He asked, you nodded, ‘Eight months pregnant,’ you told him, he arched an eyebrow, ‘feet are swelling like a bitch but she’s refusing to take it easy. He wanted to be reassured that she’ll be okay.’ You finished and watched his brows drop together. ‘Will she?’ Hangman quizzed, you nodded. ‘Yeah, I mean realistically she should be laying back in bed but she’s running a house.’ You told him, pulling apart the muffin. ‘Is there anything else I can help you with? I need to file our reports.’ You told him, he shook his head. ‘No, well I’m sorry for the way I treated when you were introduced.’ He apologised. ‘It’s fine,’ you waved at him, ‘I’ve dealt with worse things than a man that has bad timing for flirting.’

‘Hope you’re not sleeping on the job.’ The familiar voice said, you didn’t bother to open your eyes as warmth spread next to you. ‘I’m taking a five-minute break since I just stopped operating.’ You told him. ‘Who needed it?’ He asked, you opened an eye as you stretched your legs out in front of you, your boot clad feet rested on the railings before you closed your eyes again. ‘Someone.’ You commented, his brows furrowed. ‘Didn’t hear any alarms.’ He said, copying your action as he stretched his legs out and rested them on the railing. The small gap still caused his legs to be bent. ‘Kept it quiet since it was night.’ You mumbled, finally opening your eyes and looking out to the broad expanse of sea. ‘Do you have an end date to when you’re leaving?’ Hangman asked. ‘You want to get rid of me?’ You asked, he was quick to shake his head. ‘No, I just mean -,’ ‘I know, I’m here for the foreseeable future or until I get a call saying I’m deployed.’ You informed him, watching as he pursed his lips out. ‘You’re a solider?’ He asked, you nodded. ‘Yeah, done three tours myself. Two of which have been with Jenkins and Abi in the other squad.’ You informed him, his eyes widened and looked at your profile.

‘Your leaving?’ He asked, Phoenix was stood beside him as Rooster slowly walked over. They took in your attire, the scrubs that you had been practically living in for the last three months were replaced. The variation of green covered your pants, the beige top and shirt was tucked into them neatly. The heavy vest was tight around your chest, the various equipment was stuffed in the pockets. The helmet that balanced on your head was strapped under your chin. Yet all their attention was drawn to the weapon that was slung over your chest. ‘Just forty-eight hours, and don’t worry you still have Abi and Jenkins to annoy.’ You told them, the familiar look of worry crossed their eyes. ‘You’re going into the field?’ Phoenix asked, you looked at her. ‘Back in,’ you corrected her, ‘I’ve always been field, this was a temp situation.’ You said, she frowned. ‘You’re coming back, right?’ Rooster asked, you smiled at him. ‘In forty-eight hours.’ You repeated, ‘Will you manage without me Rooster?’ You teased, he smiled but nodded. The pat on your shoulder pulled everyone’s attention to heli pilot, you gave him a nod and a thumbs up before you turned for the group. ‘I’ll see you two days.’ You shouted.

‘Hangman, Rooster we’ll need your help if you’re free.’ Jenkins called out, they were quick to stand up and follow him. They followed him out onto the deck, Abi was already there giving them a quick smile. The helicopter was landing, the large metal blades sliced through the air as the skilled driver carefully landed it. The pilot signalled to Abi and Jenkins, they made their way across the desk, Hangman and Rooster close behind them. When the door to the heli was opened all hell broke loose. The first thing they saw was the two black bags, zipped up and tagged. Then three guys, that we’re wearing the same uniform as you had when you left, climbed out. Arms in make shift casts, heads wrapped and bruises covering their faces. Then when Rooster and Hangman looked in their stomachs dropped, you looked at them through your eyelashes but continued to press down on the guys chest. His chest was on display, the deep purple covered his left side. ‘Appeared healthy when first examined, suspected to have a broken rib and arm.’ You took a second to catch your breath as they pulled you out, ‘Crashed four minutes ago, no pulse, I would say punctured lung yet both sides are good.’ You continued to tell them. ‘Is he responsive?’ Jenkins asked, you shook your head and continued on with compressions, knowing that the team wouldn’t enter the building until he was in. ‘You’re bleeding.’ Jenkins said, reaching up to tilt your chin up. You looked at him, the dried blood stained the side of your face and the collar of your shirt. ‘He’s dying.’ You commented, continuing with the compression. ‘Y/N.’ Jenkins warned as well. ‘No.’ You snapped. ‘He’s dead.’ He warned you, you shook your head. ‘No, he’s not dead till he inside on my table and cold.’ You said, he tilted his head to the side. ‘Cold and dead.’ You repeated, Jenkins sighed and nodded. ‘Now get me inside.’ You commanded. ‘Abi, check the others over.’ You told her as you motioned to them, Abi nodded and moved over to them.

‘Someone take over compressions.’ You commanded, Rooster stepped forward and interlocked his fingers before he pressed down on the man chest. You stepped away from the table, reaching up you unclipped your helmet and chucked it into the corner with your right hand. You then turned, stepping closer to a wall and pressed your left shoulder against it. ‘What the hell are you going?’ Hangman asked, you looked at him then to Jenkins who shook his head and focused back on his patient. You clenched your jaw, pushing down the pain that spread over your arm. ‘Let me pop it back in.’ Abi said, hands stretched out as she appeared behind you as you quickly moved. Rooster and Hangman watched on as the loud pop filled the room, you grunted and stood up tall. The pain was sharp but it quickly dulled down. ‘I’m fine.’ You said, wriggling your fingers to make sure you hadn’t caught any nerves. ‘Stop.’ You said, Rooster looked at you. ‘CT.’ You commanded, Jenkins was already spreading the gel with one hand and switched the machine on with the other. You watched the black and white image as he guided the wand around, the lighter object was resting against the large muscle. Jenkins moved the wand about and you inhaled deeply. ‘Shit.’ All the doctors said, Rooster and Hangman looked at the image, neither of them understanding it but they knew it was bad. ‘You need to leave.’ You told Rooster and Hangman. ‘We can help.’ They both said, you shook your head. ‘Thank you for helping but I’m about to cut into this mans chest and need all my concentration on him.’ You told them, as you wrapped the apron around to try and save your clothes, Abi quickly set the instruments out whilst you slipped gloves on. ‘How about we help with the others?’ Rooster suggested, the band of the glove snapped. ‘Look do what you want but leave.’ You almost snapped at them, you could feel the muscles down your back tensing up.

‘Staff Sergeant.’ The voice called, you lifted your head and made eye contact with the group that stood at the doorway. ‘What are you doing here?’ You asked. ‘I tried to -,’ Hangman stopped his sentence short when he saw the dried blood that coated your clothes, then to the fresh blood that was spread across the floor. ‘How is he?’ Griggs asked, you looked at him the to the others and sighed. ‘Heart was punctured,’ you started, ‘we managed to sew it together to hold it but when he’s back on land then it’s a long journey.’ You explained removing the stained shirt that you had been wearing for close to thirteen hours. ‘Will he be back?’ Adams asked, you slid your arms out and stood in front of them in your black sports bra. Hangman’s attention moved over you until it landed on the pale scar that ran over your right hip and wrapped around to your back. ‘No, as a result of the injury he’ll be discharged, honourably of course.’ You said. ‘Now please go and relax because I am going to shower the dirt, blood and grime off before I go and report.’ You told them, as you motioned to the blood coated shirt on the floor. ‘You need rest.’ Griggs said as he crossed his arms over his chest, the large tattooed forearm seemed to increase in size. ‘Rest can wait, their families need to be informed as quick as they can.’ You told them whilst you picked up the rough towel.

‘Sir.’ You stood taller, the sling your arm was in nipped at the back of your neck. ‘At ease.’ ‘What the hell happened? And why do we have five DOA, and only two bodies made it back?’ He asked, you rolled your neck. ‘We were ambushed.’ You informed him, he narrowed his eyes at you. ‘I read that.’ He stated, you nodded once. ‘We were travelling the route that was stated, we got five clicks away before the first of the convoy was taken out by a missile from Northwest.’ You started to explain, his face was stoic. ‘Third convoy was taken out by a missile but from the Southwest, the vehicle flipped and connected with our back panels and flipped us.’ You continued. ‘Five injured, Samson is lucky to be alive and heading back with you this morning.’ You pointed out. ‘Permission to speak freely?’ You asked, using your free arm and scratched your nose ‘Go ahead.’ He gave you permission. ‘They knew we were there.’ You told him, his brows furrowed together. ‘How?’ He asked, you shrugged your good shoulder. ‘No idea sir, I’ve been in this boat until you sent the heli.’ You reminded him, he nodded. ‘I hope you keep that idea to yourself.’ He warned you, you nodded. ‘I’m on a ship, sir. Unless my station has been changed?’ You asked him, he shook his head. ‘No, you’re still stationed here. Men are still out there.’ He said, you nodded your head once. ‘Understood sir.’ You said, he nodded back at you and turned around, he walked maybe two feet before he stopped. ‘Y/N?’ He asked as he turned back to you, you stood taller and raised an eyebrow. ‘Yes sir.’ You replied. ‘Talks of a medal of honour coming your way.’ He said, a smile plastered on his face. ‘And just like the other times I will be politely declining it.’ You reminded him, the smile dropped. ‘You can’t keep turning it down.’ He replied. ‘I’m not accepting it because this is what I signed on for this, sir, it’s in my contact to save the lives of the teams.’ You reminded him, he gave you a grunt before he nodded and walked away.

It had been a month since the last major incident, the only problem was the amount of men and women who were getting sea sick from the intense waves that had filled the ocean for the past three days. The waves had calmed enough that everyone could sit in the dining hall for the their dinner, you, Abi, Jenkins and the small group that seemed to follow Jake around were hunched over a plastic table. ‘Staff sergeant.’ You lifted your head along with Phoenix, Bob, Rooster and Hangman. Jenkins and Abi kept their heads down, they knew what was coming. The three of you did. The man stood tall in front of you, his looked over the small group that had gathered throughout the night as you were relaxing before whatever would happened tomorrow. ‘You can talk freely.’ You told him, he nodded. ‘You’re requested on site, transport leaves at O hundred hours.’ He said, you lifted your wrist and looked at the watch. Three hours. ‘Understood.’ You replied, he nodded before turning and walking away. ‘I need to go get ready.’ You said, downing the last of your water before pushing away from the table. ‘Cold and dead.’ Jenkins and Abi said, holding their curled fists up. ‘Cold and dead.’ You replied, knocking your own fists against theirs before you walked. ‘Why is she going on a stealth mission?’ Phoenix asked, Jenkins and Abi shook their heads. ‘Come on, we know that flying between they hours is sneaking in the enemy.’ She said, the group looked at the two medics. ‘Y/N has skills that benefit here and on land in combat.’ Jenkins told them. ‘You aren’t going with her?’ Bob questioned, they both shook their heads. ‘No, she has her own team.’

‘What’s happening?’ Rooster asked, Abi and Jenkins ignored him. ‘Abi.’ ‘Stay here and do not come and help us.’ She warned them. ‘It’s Y/N.’ Phoenix said, all heads snapped to her then they turned to Abi but she didn’t give them time to ask or for her to react before she was sprinting. ‘What happened?’ ‘Pulse is there but weak, left-hand side is believed to be third degree burns. Cold compress has been put on it, we incubated her and we are doing the breathing.’ He listed off, Abi and Jenkins nodded as they looked down at you. ‘What did she do?’ Abi asked, she looked up to the medic. ‘Protected a kid from a grenade.’ Your teammate told the group. ‘Oh, you stupid girl.’ Abi said, her gloved hand carefully brushing the top of your head. ‘Her breathing was shallow on the right.’ The medic continued to tell them, Jenkins brows furrowed. ‘Punctured lung.’ ‘Y/N?’ Someone called out, everyone’s heads snapped to the little girl that wriggled in the man’s arms. ‘Who’s she?’ Rooster asked. ‘The little girl, Sahar, she’s completely fine.’ The other medic said, Sahar’s eyes were wide as she looked at your unmoving body. ‘I’ll take her.’ Phoenix said and pushed away, walking it towards the little girl. ‘Are any of you injured?’ Abi asked, Jenkins and her directed their attention to the team that had been squeezed in the back of the heli. ‘Jenkins make sure Ghost gets better.’ The man at the front called, Hangman could make out that he was holding your helmet in his hand, Jenkins nodded before they pushed gurney.

You tried to open your eyes but they didn’t cooperate, they felt heavy, tied down. That was the least of your worries when the searing pain spread up your side. Across your stomach and down your leg, you tried to move away from the pain but you couldn’t do anything. You tried to speak but it only came out in grunts and moans as your body refused to work with you. ‘Jake.’ Jenkins called out, he lifted his head, ‘you need to hold her down she’s waking up.’ He said, Jakes eyes widened. ‘If she wakes up, she’ll worsen her injuries, talk to her, say anything that is on your mind but distract her.’ He said, Jake nodded and moved to the space above your head. ‘Hey.’ He breathed out, standing above you he could see all your injuries old and new. ‘My mum called.’ He said, his hands rested on your shoulders and kept you down as he watched Jenkins and Abi delicately pulled the singed clothes off your wounds. ‘She’s determined to set me up with the next-door neighbour, you know the one I showed you?’ Jake continued to talk to you, deep frown lines appeared between your eyebrows. ‘She’s nice, I’ll admit that but I think I’ll decline.’ He stated, Abi spared a glance up to see him resting his head against the side of yours, worry etched into his face, ‘She’s too preppy for me.’ he added, Abi looked away from him only to meet Jenkin’s gaze who nodded with a faint smile, agreeing with her statement that she didn’t have to speak.

‘What’s happening?’ Jake asked, his eyes wide as he looked at you on the gurney, the silver blanket wrapped tightly around you. ‘We don’t have enough skill or equipment here, the heli is loaded so she’s going to the hospital.’ Abi said, Jenkins gave him a nod as he walked over to edge were the ship, he greeted the crew. ‘Does she have anyone on land?’ Jake asked, Abi nodded. ‘She has her team.’ Abi said, Jake looked at her as she jutted her chin to the group that she came aboard with. ‘They’re family, you don’t need to worry about her.’ Abi stated, Jake pursed his lips and nodded. ‘I’m always going to worry.’ Jake mumbled, Abi gave him a small smile. ‘I’ll keep you up to date.’ She told him and stretched a hand out to squeeze his arm. ‘Thank you.’ He said before he stepped out the side and allowed Abi to push the gurney out.

‘Staff sergeant.’ The voice said, you lifted and looked at the door to see Jake in casual clothes, the black T-shirt was tight across his chest as the checkered shirt hung over his shoulders that he had paired with dark washed jeans. ‘Lieutenant.’ You greeted him with a smile, ‘What brings you onto land?’ You quizzed as he walked over. ‘I’m on leave. On it for a couple of weeks then I’m off again.’ He said, you arched an eyebrow. ‘That’s good.’ You replied, he nodded. ‘Yeah.’ ‘So why aren’t you meeting with you mum and declining that girl?’ You asked, his shoulders tensed up. ‘You heard that?’ He asked, you nodded. ‘Yeah, I heard and felt everything that day. Thank you.’ You thanked him, the corner of his lips quirked up before it dropped down. ‘Just doing my job.’ He replied, you gave him a nod. ‘Why do they call you Ghost?’ Jake asked. ‘It was either Ghost or Spartacus but Alex earned the latter.’ You told him, his brows furrowed together. ‘Let me guess the big burly dude?’ He asked, you shook your head and gave a him a wide smile. ‘No, she’s the one of the girls in my team. Managed to knock a door down the boys had been trying for five minutes plus she took down five men with a knife.’ You explained, he arched an eyebrow but nodded. ‘Makes sense.’ He nodded. ‘I got ghost because I’m an unseen force to the other side.’ You said, his brows furrowed in a silent question. ‘They don’t suspect a medic to have the training I do.’ You tried to move but the bandages that coated your left side nipped at the skin. ‘Let me help.’ Jake said, he walked to the right hand side and carefully slid a hand under your knee and the other just under your shoulder blade. He looked at you as you nodded and wrapped your good arm around his shoulders, he lifted you up before he adjusted the pillows behind you. You slowly let go of him as he slid his hands out, allowing you to sink into the cushions with a sigh. ‘Thank you.’ You sighed, your back finally comfortable as he dropped into the chair. ‘And what do you mean the girl is too preppy, she everything you look for.’ You asked, redirecting to the earlier conversation. ‘You don’t know what I look for?’ Jake replied, you arched an eyebrow. ‘We spent a year on that boat together, I think I know.’ You commented. ‘Tell me then.’ Jake challenged as he crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair. ‘You want someone that can ride a horse so you can go on those majestic horse rides down at the sea, the slaty air whipping through your hair, that you would’ve grown out by then.’ You joked, he arched an eyebrow. ‘You think I’d grow my hair long?’ He asked, reaching up to touch his neatly styled hair. ‘Yeah, maybe, I think you’d suit it slightly longer.’ You smiled at him, he arched an eyebrow. ‘Secondly I don’t want to do the horse riding along the sea, already did it.’ He admitted, your eyes widened. ‘You’ve did it? For who?’ You asked excitedly. ‘An ex girlfriend before I was deployed.’ He replied, amused but your excitement. ‘And she isn’t with you still?’ You quizzed, he shook his head. ‘No, I broke it off with her.’ He informed you, ‘Aw come on, that could’ve been you future wife.’ You said, he scoffed and shook his head. ‘Highly unlikely since she got married to Billy Baxton six months later.’ He informed you, you scrunched your face up. ‘Bet you broke loads boys hearts when you left?’ Jake commented, you scoffed and shook your head, the white bandages on your neck crinkled. ‘Still got your facts wrong about me Navy boy.’ You told him. ‘I do?’ He asked, eyes widened in surprise. ‘Yeah, the last time a boy tried to ask me out was after prom.’ You started. ‘But when he sneaked up on me in the dark, I reacted and sixty seconds later he had a broken nose and fractured wrist.’ You explained, his eyes widened as he leaned forward waiting to find out what happened. ‘He ran away crying for his mummy.’ You added, Jake burst out laughing as he tilted his head back. ‘Be quiet you’ll disturb Sandra.’ You warned him as you pointed to the curtains, he held up his hands. ‘Sorry.’ He apologised to the curtain. ‘It’s alright.’ Sandra replied, you widened your eyes at Jake before the curtain was pulled open. ‘I hope loudmouth didn’t wake you.’ You apologised, she shook her head. ‘No, you know I struggle to sleep.’ Sandra told you. ‘Yeah, but having a loudmouth navy boy might make it harder.’ You told her, she smiled and shook her head before she looked at him. ‘I’ll let him off since he’s so good looking.’ She commented, you smiled and turned to Jake whose cheeks were red but he smiled anyway. ‘Thank you, ma’am.’ He replied, his smile widened. ‘Don’t call me ma’am.’ She said, his brows furrowed. ‘Sorry.’ He replied, she dismissed it with a wave. ‘Am I hearing right that you were stationed on his ship for the last year?’ Sandra asked, you both nodded. ‘Yes, been a long one.’ You groaned, Jake rolled his eyes. ‘I didn’t know you were Navy.’ Sandra said, you held up an extended finger. ‘I’m not Sandra, I’m the better side. I’m with the army.’ You replied proudly, you could see Jake’s eyes narrowed at you. ‘Ahh it makes sense now.’ She said, your brows drew together. ‘What does?’ You both asked together. ‘The rivalry.’ She commented, waving her hand between the pair of you. ‘There isn’t any.’ You told her, she arched an eyebrow. ‘Pretty sure there is.’ Sandra said, you opened your mouth. ‘You did call me a lady the first time we meet.’ Jake commented, you rolled your eyes. ‘Second time,’ you pointed a finger at him, ‘and you flirted with me the first we meet. In front of our teams.’ ‘I had to mark my territory.’ Jake pointed out, you tilted your head to the side. ‘You coulda just whipped your privates out and peed everywhere.’ You informed him, his eyes lit up. ‘That would’ve got me in trouble.’ He pointed out. ‘Excuse me?’ A voice said, all three of you looked at the small nurse. ‘Hello beautiful.’ Jake greeted her, you closed your eyes and leaned your head back. ‘Not the nurse Seresin.’ You warned him, he held up his hands and smiled at you before he gave the nurse a wink, the apples of her cheeks quickly turned red as her attention focussed on you. ‘It’s time for your wounds to be cleaned and changed.’ She said, apologetically as she knew what it entailed. ‘Do you want your boyfriend to stay or would you like me to guide him to the waiting room?’ She asked. ‘He’s not my boyfriend and -,’ you trailed off, looking at him then to the nurse, ‘Only he helps wants to.’ You said, you didn’t want to force him. ‘I’ll stay.’ He replied, the nurse nodded. ‘Okay.’ ‘Nurse before you start could I possibly get help to the bathroom?’ Sandra asked, the nurse looked at her and smiled. ‘I’ll go get someone for you.’ The nurse said, Sandra nodded and the nurse left. ‘Thank you.’ Sandra said before she pulled the curtain over to give each other some privacy. ‘Go help Sandra sit up, just be careful of her right leg and chest.’ You told Jake, he listened as he nodded and stood up. ‘Knock knock.’ He said, pretending to chap the curtain. ‘You can come in Navy boy.’ Sandra said, you smiled as he looked over his shoulder before he stepped in. ‘The names Jake.’ He told her, Sandra nodded. ‘I know.’ She replied. ‘Thank you.’ Sandra said, sitting at the edge of the bed. Jake nodded and went to turn before she reached out and grabbed his hand. ‘She’s going to try and take the pain out on you.’ Sandra whispered, Jake arched an eyebrow. ‘She’ll act tough here, the wound cleaning is a bitch but she’ll close up when it starts to heal. The realisation that it won’t be normal kicks in soon.’ Sandra explained, before the curtain behind him was pulled open. ‘Nurse Franklin.’ Sandra greeted her, her eyes widened when she saw Jake. ‘Sandra, didn’t know you have a grandson.’ The nurse said as she looked at Jake. ‘I don’t, he’s a visitor for Y/N who’s been so helpful.’ Sandra replied, Nurse Franklins eyebrow rose. ‘Oh.’ She said, then looked to Sandra, ‘She has a visitor?’ ‘She hasn’t had any?’ Jake asked, they both shook their heads. ‘The team she came with, she hasn’t allowed them in.’ She said, Jake looked between the two women, ‘I’m surprised she let you in.’ ‘I know why she let him in.’ Sandra stated, nurse Franklin looked at the middle-aged woman before her eyes opened. ‘Really?’ The nurse asked, Sandra nodded. ‘Yes, both are too dumb to say anything.’ Sandra commented, the nurse pursed her lips. ‘Ah well.’ Nurse Franklin said, before she looked at Jake. ‘Treat her with respect, it’s nothing less than what she gives us.’ She warned him, Jake nodded and felt intimidated by their threats.

The whimper broke through the room, Jake’s head snapped up from the blood and puss stained bandaged to see your eyes scrunched shut, jaw clenched tightly as you squeezed his finger. ‘Y/N, look at me.’ He said. ‘Staff Sergeant look at me.’ He commanded, your eyes snapped open and landed on his green ones. ‘Deep breaths.’ He said. ‘I am.’ You gritted out. ‘You’re not.’ He retaliated. ‘Follow mine okay.’ He said, you nodded and he leaned forward. He rested his forehead against yours, bringing your joined hands to his chest and he inhaled. You followed suit before he exhaled, you tried to copy but the bandage was stuck and you forced down a yelp. The nurse glanced up to the pair of you, she smiled before she quickly pulled it free. ‘You’re almost there.’ Jake said, you lips twisted into a smile. ‘Sounds like I’m giving birth.’ You breathed out. ‘I think giving birth would be easier.’ He commented, both of you chuckled. ‘Maybe I’ll find out one day.’ You hissed, he smiled.

‘Mr Seresin?’ A voice called out, Make lifted his head and made eye contact with Jessica, the nurse who always seemed to be on shift. ‘Yes?’ He asked, she gave him a tight smile. ‘She’s doesn’t want to see you today.’ She said, Jakes smiled dropped and looked into through the window where the curtain wrapped around your cubicle. ‘Okay.’ He said, ‘can you pass these to her when she’s better?’ Jake asked, handing the small box of chocolates over to her. ‘I will.’ ‘Thank you.’ He replied and turned to walk away. ‘Jake?’ The familiar voice called out, he looked down the hall. ‘Sandra.’ He greeted her, your neighbour for the last eight days. ‘How are you?’ Jake asked her, she tilted her head to the side. ‘I’m okay.’ She replied, he nodded and the corner of his lips curled into a small smile. ‘Is Y/N okay?’ Jake asked, Sandra’s brows dipped. ‘She’s not letting you in?’ She asked, Jake nodded as she pursed her lips. ‘I could use some company.’ Sandra said, Jake looked at her. ‘I don’t want to intrude.’ He quickly said, she shook her head. ‘You’re not, I’m inviting.’ She told him, then twisted in her seat. ‘You can leave us, I think Jake’s capable of controlling a wheelchair.’ Sandra told the young porter, he nodded and walked away as Jake slipped behind the chair. He guided her back into the two man room, the curtains that surrounded your bed were drawn over, keeping you hidden from the world. ‘Y/N?’ Sandra called out, there was a short period of silence. ‘Yeah.’ You replied, your voice weak. ‘You’ll never guess who I found wandering the hallway.’ Sandra said, your side fell silent as Sandra slid into her bed with ease compared to the last time. ‘Santa?’ You asked. ‘I wish.’ Sandra commented, the silence filled the room. ‘That loudmouth Navy boy.’ Sandra said. ‘Jake?’ You asked. ‘Yup.’ She replied. ‘I told them I didn’t want to see him?’ You told her, not caring that Jake could hear everything. ‘Oh, he knows that but he’s here for me.’ Sandra commented. ‘That’s nice.’ You hummed. ‘Yeah, he got me those chocolates that you keep raving about.’ Sandra teased her, she must’ve noticed him handing them over to the nurses outside. ‘That’s nice.’ You hummed again, not humouring her conversation. ‘They are.’ Sandra replied, but whatever reaction she was looking for didn’t happen. Jake was about to tell her to leave it, then Sandra tilted her head to the side. ‘Dr said I’ll need to skin grafts to try and save my leg.’ She said, Jake looked at her with wide eyes then she counted down from three on her fingers before the curtains were yanked open. ‘You doctor doesn’t know shit then.’ You cursed, your brows were drawn together and focused on Sandra who was smiling wide. ‘You don’t need them, do you?’ You sighed, you hadn’t even spared a look at Jake.

‘No, but it’s nice to see you care about me.’ Sandra commented, you let out a sigh and dropped back into the bed which revealed the red scar down your neck. ‘You’re not being polite, you should say hi to my visitor.’ Sandra said, you inhaled deeply and lifted your head. ‘You weren’t nice to me there.’ ‘Manners make a person.’ She commented, you rolled your eyes and looked to Jake, his blue eyes already watching you. ‘Hi Navy boy.’ You greeted him. ‘Hi.’ He replied. ‘Happy?’ You asked Sandra, she smiled and nodded. ‘Now go over and talk to her.’ Sandra turned to Jake, his eyes widened as his gaze snapped over to her. ‘No, you want him as your guest you can keep him.’ You quickly replied, ignoring the way Jake’s face dropped. ‘You know pissing him off isn’t a good idea, he can pull rank.’ Sandra commented, you narrowed your eyes at her again before they moved to Jake. ‘He wouldn’t dare.’ You told him as you sent a glare at him. ‘I don’t even know why you’re here?’ You sighed and looked at your friend. ‘Because you’re my friend, and I wanted to visit you and -,’ He started. ‘And what?’ You cut him off, his lips pressed together as his jaw bounced. ‘Come on Jake, the massive rouse you just pulled and you can’t say it?’ You quizzed, his shoulders tensed up. ‘It was Sandra’s idea, I wanted to see my friend that has pushed everyone away from them before I’m deployed again.’ He said, his clenched hands at his sides relaxed when your face dropped. ‘What?’ You exhaled, Sandra’s head snapped to him as well. ‘I’ve been called back a week early.’ He sighed. ‘Oh.’ ‘Yeah.’ He said, playing with is fingers as he avoided looking at you. ‘We’ll thanks for letting me know, be safe and fly high.’ You told him. ‘Okay.’ ‘The nurses have your chocolates, make sure you give one to Sandra.’ He told you, you nodded and watched as he twisted and sent a smile to Sandra before he walked away. ‘You should’ve told him.’ Sandra announced when the door shut, your head flung back into the soft pillows that were slowly becoming uncomfortable. ‘Told him what?’ You asked her. ‘That you like him.’ She commented. ‘He knows I do.’ You replied, she groaned and turned on her side carefully of her leg. ‘By god, you’re just being stupid.’ She told you. ‘I’m not stupid, why would a walking Greek god what anything to do with a scarred-up vet?’ You asked her, careful how you turned your neck to look at her. ‘Because he loves you.’ She pointed out, you closed your eyes. ‘No, he doesn’t.’ You replied quickly, shaking your head, the bandages rubbed against your top. ‘He’s spent most his leave here with you, plus he came to tell you that he was leaving.’ Sandra pointed out, ‘also, why not let your team in who come every weekend but let him in?’ She asked, you picked at the small balled up bit of fabric. ‘Because I won’t see him again.’ You told her, she looked at you and shook her head. ‘Y/N.’ She warned. ‘No, he’s deployed on a boat god knows where training and flying. When I get out of here I’ll be discharged, then flung into the world trying to find a job.’ You told her what would most likely happen to you. ‘You could always become a doctor.’ Sandra pointed out, you scoffed. ‘No one would hire me with these scars.’ You told her as you gestured of the bandages, knowing what was under them. ‘The only scars that would be present are the ones on your neck and wrists, unless you plan on walking about naked.’ Sandra commented, you gave her a small chuckle. ‘Sandra please, me and Jake aren’t on that ship any more.’ You told her. ‘You could be.’ She replied, you shook your head. ‘In our dreams.’ You commented and ended the conversation, Sandra watched as you turned onto your side.

#hangman x reader #reader x hangman #hangman x y/n #hangman #hangman imagines #top gun maverick #top gun movie #top gun #reader x Jake seresin #Jake seresin x reader #jake seresin #jake ‘hangman’ seresin #reader x Jake ‘hangman’ seresin #pheonix #bradleybradshaw

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words-4u · 2 years

Text

they don't know about us - j.'h'.s

pairing: jake 'hangman' seresin x reader

wc: 1.8k

a/n: i am so happy to see glen powell getting the recognition he deserves <333 also listen to 'they don't know about us' by 1d cause that also kinda inspired this imagine!

top gun: maverick masterlist

you've had a passion for flying ever since you were little. it came from spending time with your dad on the airbase whenever possible. seeing the glimmer in his eyes anytime he would return with a new story about flying the f-14s made you want to pursue the same thing, so you did.

the second you were able to sign up for flight school, you did. it was against your mother's wishes because she had already lost your father to the sky and didn't want to lose you too. ultimately, she knew there was no convincing you because once you had your heart set on something, that was it.

flight school was interesting, to say the least. the boys in your class didn't view you as much competition but ever since you smoked their asses on the first day, they were quick to respect you. during your time at flight school, you became super close with natasha aka phoenix as she was the only other girl present and you two got on like a house on fire.

when you found out you and pheonix were heading to top gun, you nearly threw up from the excitement. top gun was no joke. it was the elite school for the best of the best aviators and you were now one of them. it was difficult, wild and stressful but also you also had the best time of your life there. you met all kinds of new people, especially ones that you normally would never surround yourself with because they are cocky, egotistical and very full of themselves making them insufferable. so imagine your surprise when you ended up falling for said person.

jake 'hangman' seresin caught you by complete surprise. you and him didn't talk much until one day you were put together on the same team for beach volleyball as a team bonding exercise. no one knew that you were on your high school volleyball team and took them all the way to the championships so it was fun watching their faces when they realized how good you were at serving the ball.

"holy shit, y/c/s! you're pretty decent at this," hangman said dragging his eyes up and down your body. you were in a black sports bra and biker shorts, nothing too fancy yet the way his eyes lingered on you made you feel like you were dressed in the finest clothes.

"i think you mean to say she's fucking incredible!" phoenix proudly put her arm around your shoulders pulling you in and resting her head on yours. your team won 10 to 4 and it was all thanks to you.

the losing team had to buy the first round of drinks at the hard deck. fanboy and bob were not fans f that but still did it with a smile on their face. you were sat at the bar watching your team bond. one thing about you is that you liked to people watch, not in a creepy way but you liked to see people living in the moment. what you didn't realize is that hangman was observing you. he stopped playing pool with the boys and joined you at the bar.

"tell me something," he began as he pulled a seat next to you. you almost choked on your drink as you weren't expecting company. "where did you learn to serve like that? cause it looked killer,"

you smiled into your drink. "i played a little in high school."

"how did i not know that?" he scoffed.

you gazed into his eyes, slightly taken aback by how intensely he was staring back. "you never asked. in fact, you haven't spoken more than 10 words to me since we started at top gun so there wasn't ever a chance."

"well," he raised his empty glass. "it's time we change that."

you knew you shouldn't get sucked into his orbit but was too late the second you started to clench your thighs anytime he smiled at you, you were a goner.

taking your cup and clinking it against his, you grinned at him. "i guess it is."

"penny darling, another round please."

the two of you fell into a comfortable conversation. of course, hangman being hangman he flirted in the most obvious ways but you laughed it off. it was quite alarming how much you were starting to enjoy being in his presence but you brushed off those thoughts and embraced the moment. the rest of the bar fell into a blur and it was like you two were the only ones there until you two were actually the last ones there. he was a gentleman and asked to walk you back to the accommodation you shared with phoenix.

"this is me," you said walking up the steps to your door. you turned around and found him on the step below you so were at eye level.

"thanks for today. i had fun."

"name the time and place and i can always show you a good time," he smirked.

"okay hangman. good night," you started to turn around but his hand caught your arm.

"wait, y/n," you looked back and your heart softened a bit. you've never seen jake 'hangman' seresin so nervous before.

"do you-can i see you again?"

"yeah, i'm gonna see you tomorrow for class." you joked. you knew what hewas really asking but you wanted to make sweat a bit.

"yeah i guess you are," he said chuckling, scratching the back of his neck. "what i'm trying to say is i liked your company a lot tonight and i'd like to do it again in a more... intimate setting?"

you couldn't help but let out a giggle. "jake seresin, are you asking me out on a date?"

"only if you say yes"

you pretended to deliberate for a few seconds before putting him out of his misery. "i'd love to."

you had no idea then but those three words changed your life. you fully intended that date with hangman to be a one-off, but it turned onto second and third and with each passing day you fell more and more.

hangman and you wanted to keep things professional at school but off-hours, you were all over each other. because he couldn't touch you in front of your peers in private, his hands were always on you. while you two studied? his hand on your legs while it was on your lap. sleeping together? his hand will always find yours in the middle of the night. walking on the beach at night as you are right now? you guessed it, his hand was holding yours.

hangman was a confident man, to say the least, but he came undone when it came to you. it terrified him at first but it quickly became a strength of his because you made him want to be a better man. he loved you and he knew you loved him and in your shared world things moved so fast but he wanted one thing to remain constant and that was you.

you stopped at random and took in a deep breath. "i don't think i will ever get over the ocean breeze at night. it's incredible."

hangman's eyes were on you. "yeah, it is."

you looked back and smiled but it feel a little when you saw his look of unease. "hey, what's wrong?"

"n-nothing." he grabbed your hands and kissed your knuckles "it's all good."

"i know you too well to know it's not, so spill."

"i love you," he began. "like a lot. with everything that flight school or life could have prepared me for there was no way, i could have prepared for you. for the longest time, i thought that flying was my first love but i've never been more wrong. it's you y/n and i want to spend the rest of my life with you. only you."

your eyes were burning with unshed tears. "jake," you whispered.

he got down on one knee and opened a small black velvet box travelling a stunning ring. "there are many ways to be happy in this life but all i really need is you. so y/n 'y/c/s' y/l/n will you marry me?"

you got down on both knees not caring if the water was soaking your silk skirt. "yes! yes! a million times yes!"

he slid the ring on the appropriate finger before you took his face and kissed him as hard as you could. it took a second before hangman took full control of the kiss, running his hand through your hair.

you pulled away and brushed his nose with yours. "hi future husband."

"hi future wife," he kissed your forehead before lifting you back into a standing position with him.

you two couldn't wait months to plan a whole elaborate wedding to be married so on a random day you two had off, you went straight to the california city hall and got your papers.

you guys kept it very lowkey around others much like when you were dating but to the outside world, it looked a budding friendship. for the rest of your time at top gun, you guys pushed each other to be the best always trying to one-up each other. the competitiveness usually ended up with you two having hot sex later on but no one knew that. it wasn't until graduation day that the cat was out of the bag.

you had decided to hyphenate your last name and your husbands name and you wanted to be said like that when your name was called. "lieutenant y/n 'y/c/s' y/l/n-seresin."

whispers broke out among your peers but you stood up proudly and saluted your commanding officer before sitting back down. pheonix tried to catch your eye but you stared straight ahead not wanting to have a much-needed conversation non-verbally.

the second graduation was over you went over to the refreshments table. "i knew i'd find you here,"

the comforting voice slid his hands around your body and kisses your head. "i'm proud of you, baby"

"never in a million years did i ever think i'd see hangman so cuddly!" a voice called out behind you two.

you guys turned around and there was rooster, coyote, phoenix, fanboy and payback.

"someone quickly explain because i am so lost,” rooster said.

"surprise?" you nervously chuckled holding up your hand and hangman did the same showing off his wedding band.

"what? how? when?" fanboy asked.

hangman went on to tell the story and as you stood there watching him, surrounded by your friends, you were the happiest you had ever been. you and hangman went through tough times together and made it out the other side stronger. there is truly no other person you'd want to spend the rest of your life with.

#top gun #top gun maverick #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #jake seresin imagine #jake seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin imagine #hangman top gun #hangman fic #hangman x reader #hangman imagine #rooster #payback #pheonix #fanboy #top gun imagine #top gun x reader

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daddy-bradley · 2 years

Text

Crumble

(Not my gif!!! Credit to owner!!)

Summary: You and Bradley are having your first fight after your baby is born. How will you both come to a solution and learn to cope through this together?

Warning(s): Angst, cursing, mentions of parental insecurity, depression, anxiety, has a happy ending (Shout out to you hard-working mothers out there)

MESSAGE: (If you are someone who is dealing with depression, anxiety, etc. Please reach out for help. I know it may seem worthless, but I promise you, it'll help.)

A/N: Some songs I listened to for inspiration while writing this piece (Highly suggest you listen as you read!): He Deserves your Love - Sir, Selfish - Future ft. Rihanna, Glimpse of Us - Joji, Serendipity - BTS (Jimin)

"I don't have a say in when I get deployed. I don't know how many times I have to say this." the frustration in Bradley's voice was evident.

You had just been told that he was ordered for deployment and had to be shipped out for two months. Not even three months after your daughter had been born.

"I understand that when you are given orders you can't say no. I'm just upset that I'll be left here alone raising our daughter on my own." You stressed out to him as you tried your best to keep your voice quiet so your daughter would not wake up from her sleep.

"You won't be alone Y/N. You have Penny, your mom, the guys and Pete if you need help with anything. I can't do anything about this, so I don't understand why you're getting so upset." He was trying his best to hold back his frustration. He could feel his anger starting to appear, but he would never dare to lash out at you. At the end of the day you were his wife, and he was not going to mistreat you like that.

"Because you won't be here Bradley!" You finally revealed. The tears started to fall from your eyes, and you had decided to just let all your feelings become evident.

"You'll be gone at a place where I don't know if you'll make it back. Where I don't know if you'll be coming back to me and our daughter..." you hiccupped as you tried your best to calm yourself down.

As he was getting ready to respond to your concerns, you cut him off and proceeded to talk. He needed to know how you felt, or else he would never know what was bother you and make the situation worse later down the line.

"I know that this is your job. I know that this is something you love. But I also know that I cannot raise our daughter alone. I need you Bradley. Our daughter needs you. I don't want to have to face the day where she finally realizes you're not there and asks where you are and if you are coming home. Because I don't know when you will come home. I don't know if you will. You can promise me everything in the world, but at the end of the day, you and I both know that you not coming home is a possibility. And I don't want her to grow up without her father. I-I don't. Not, not like I-I did." the dam finally broke and this time you just let yourself cry, and cry, and cry.

It felt good to finally get this off your chest, it felt good to cry. But what you didn't feel good about was unintentionally making Bradley feel guilty about his career. You would never want him to regret dedicating his life to protecting this country. But, at the very least, he needed to know how you felt.

As you continued to cry with your hands covering your face, Bradley stood there and let your words sink in. He understands what you are feeling. He would never deny that him leaving you every time he had a deployment was hard. But he has a family now, and this time he would be leaving his wife and a child.

He knew that you being on your own without him can be lonely, but he also knew that would be the one taking care of the baby primarily on your own. Waking up multiple times throughout the night to feed and change her diaper, not get enough sleep, make sure to maintain the house, go to work, pay the bills, etc.

He watched you crumble in front of him. Your sadness causing a huge weight to your shoulders.Your gut wrenching sobs that you tried to control to not disturb your daughter. He knew the main reason why you were afraid to be on your own without him. you were afraid that you were going to have another depressive episode again.

After your daughter was born, he noticed after a couple of weeks that you weren't bonding with her as much as he was. The connection was not there. It wasn't until he came home one day to see you in bed, tears streaming, your hands in your hair, throat raw from crying as you curl up into a ball that he truly knew something was wrong.

He did everything he could to get you the help you need. To learn how to cope with your feelings. To build a better connection with your daughter. Overtime, massive improvement was seen and he was so proud of you. Your bond with daughter was now stronger than ever, and now everything she did consumed you.

Taking a step forward, Bradley pulls you into his chest. His arms are so tight around you, to the verge of almost suffocation. But you didn't even notice. Your arms instinctually wrapping around him as you cried in his neck.

"Everything is going to be okay baby." he soothed you as he kept you in his grip. He knew that you needed this, this type of security. It was one of the few things that made you feel safe.

"B-But what if-if it's not Bradley? W-What if I have an-another episode? I-I don't w-want that to-to happen?" you said brokenly as you thought about the past.

Pulling slightly away from you, he puts a finger under your chin to make you look at him. He needed you to listen and understand what he was going to say.

"Listen to me baby. You are strong, a very strong woman and a very good mother. I know you're scared of that happening again, but I know you are stronger than that." he started off as he gently wiped your continuous tears away.

"You gave birth to our daughter, you fought constant battles with your mind that affected your relationship with her, but in the end you won. You fought those demons, and now you are better than ever. " he leaned his forehead down to yours, your noses slightly touching.

"Its normal to feel sad every once in a while, and I know there is a chance that can happen while I'm gone, but you have to believe in yourself that you can overcome those moments and go back to being that strong woman that I know your capable of. Not for me, but for our daughter. Not having you both with me is going to be pure hell, I'm gonna have my moments too. But at the end of the day, I have reason to come home and that's you two. If I can do it, so can you. I believe in you, our daughter believes in you. And most of all, we both love you. You're strong baby, you just have to believe in it. "

And with that he gave you a long and hard kiss to your forehead, while keeping you in his arms. Your tears had stopped the river, but they were still there. You knew he was right. You knew that you could do this, you just had to make yourself believe that you can.

"I am strong." you whispered out as you kept your grip on him.

"You are." he replied back once he pulled away from your forehead.

"I am very strong." you said louder, although your voice was a bit wobbly.

"You are very strong." he praised you. He leaned down to give you a soft kiss in which you embraced whole-heartedly. Although you were still sad that he was leaving, you felt more prepared to look after your daughter when it was time for him to go.

"I'm a very good mother." you said, after the kiss.

"You're a wonderful mother." he said.

"I can do this." you stated firmly. This time, no hesitation, and no hint of stuttering in your voice.

"You can do this."

#bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw angst #bradley bradshaw fluff #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw x reader #rooster bradshaw smut #rooster #rooster x reader #miles teller imagine #miles teller #mickey fanboy garcia #pete mitchell #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #bob floyd #jake seresin #pheonix

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writing-and-wondering · 2 years

Text

You’re a Wonder

Part 3

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Rooster x Kazansky!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Fighting, Mentions of death, Blood, Bruising, most definitely some typos

Request: Nah

Word Count: 10.1k (longest so far haha oops)

Synopsis: Training continues for the Uranium Mission, but Y/n “Wonder” Kazansky still has to face the past before truly becoming apart of the team that is being built for this so called “Miracle Mission”.

A/n: Hello! This took longer than expected but I’m just having a blast writing this, and I’m so so overwhelmed by the love !! You all are truly awesome wow thank you so much <3

You were given the day off to recover after yesterday’s accident. You had insisted you were fine but the doctor’s didn’t want to hear it. Having no other choice but to oblige, you reluctantly sat back and watched the others take to the sky.

With nothing else to do, you decided to take Maverick’s words to heart and go see your father. As you pulled up to your parents house, you sat in the driveway for a moment, hands gripping tightly to the steering wheel.

This will be the first time seeing Ice since you were told that he was sick again. Taking a deep breath, you forced yourself to get out of the car and head up the steps to the front door.

You’ve barely even raised your fist to knock on the door before Sarah is wrenching it open and pulling you to her. You stumble forward slightly, part out of shock, part out of the sheer strength that is your mother.

After your second of hesitation, you’re returning the hug just as tightly, your head falling against her shoulder. You two just hold each other for a moment, her hand gently rubbing across your back in the comforting way she always did.

Sniffing, you pull back so you can look at her, but keep your hold on her arms, “Mom, I- I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I should’ve-”

But she’s shaking her head and bringing her hands up to cup the sides of your face, “No. No, I won’t have you speaking like that. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

You open your mouth to object but she just smiles at you, her hands dropping to your shoulders, “It’s okay, love. I understand.”

You feel all the words that you had rehearsed and planned to say to her fail you, leaving you with nothing to say. You can see the tears blossoming in her eyes, no doubt mirroring your own. At your silence, she pulls you into another hug, her warm embrace easing any worry you had about coming back home.

“You know I love you so much, sweetheart. So much.” Sarah tells you gently, holding you tighter. You nod, tears burning your eyes, “I love you too.”

She pulls away, saying nothing as she thumbs away the stray tear that was falling down your cheek. You breathe out a humorless laugh as you wipe your eyes with the palm of your hand.

Sarah squeezes your arm, her eyes flicking towards the hall to the left, “Dad’s in his study.” As she speaks, you can hear the pain in her voice. You look at her for a moment, taking a second to admire how strong she is.

Not being able to speak, you just nod and grip her hand tightly before making your way to the door at the end of the hall. Upon reaching it, you hesitate for a moment, your eyes drifting closed as you take a deep breath.

Shaking out your hands, you turn the handle and slowly enter the room. You’re met with nothing but light, the glass doors allowing the sunshine to flood through the room. Your gaze shifts to your dad, who is sitting in his desk chair, his back turned to you.

Letting the door click shut behind you, a smile finds its way onto your face as you walk further into the room, “There’s my favorite admiral.”

He turns to you as you speak, a wide smile on his face the second his eyes meet yours. He opens his arms to you and you bend down to hug him without a moment’s hesitation.

His hand rubs across your back in a similar way to your mothers, the comforting action making you feel small again. Breaking apart to pull up a chair, you sit in front of him with a smile, “How are you?” You ask, your hands folding into your lap.

Ice just grins and shrugs, which brings you to roll your eyes a bit. When you meet his gaze again, you find that his eyebrows are drawn together in concern. He motions to the bandages at the corner of your forehead, his expression questioning.

“Ah.” You say, reaching up to run your fingers over the fabric, “Mishap during training.” You tell him simply, trying to ease the worry you can already see growing in his eyes as he stares at you.

He turns towards his computer and quickly types, “What happened?”

Your mouth goes dry as you shift in your chair, “I flew through a jet wash... ejected too late after thinking I could save it... I couldn’t.”

He nods, a frown pulling down on his face. Ice reaches over and takes one of your hands into his, the action causing you to realize just how tightly you were griping them together.

His thumb gently rubs over the back of your hand before he moves to type, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

You feel a small smile inch onto your face as you read it, your chest tightening. He back spaces and replaces the words with, “You are okay, right?”

Sighing deeply, you nod, “I’m fine, Dad. But, I didn’t come here to talk about me, you know.”

He chuckles at your response as his fingers move across the keyboard, “Excuse me for wanting to find out what’s going on with my daughter.”

Your lips draw together in a line as you nod. You can’t blame him... especially after keeping yourself away for so long. Bringing your gaze away from the screen and back to him, you feel a pang in your heart. Seeing him again is hitting you much harder than you thought it would.

He looks different... you knew he would. But there’s something about actually seeing it for yourself that leaves a knot forming in your throat as you try to keep yourself composed. Leaning forward, you place your hand on his forearm, “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

Ice waves you off but you shake your head, finding the words that you had lost when speaking to your mother, “No. No, I should’ve came the second I heard. I should’ve been here-”

Your dad raises his hand to stop you, his head shaking. After facing you with a look, he moves to type, “You were exactly where you needed to be.”

Hot tears find there way into your eyes as you open your mouth to object, but he types faster than you can speak, “I’ve never expected you to put your life on hold for me. That has never changed.”

He pauses for a moment to look at you, his thumb gently wiping away the tears you didn’t know had fallen. Ice holds the side of your face for a moment before typing, “I’m so proud of you. Of everything you’ve become. There’s no greater joy for me than to see what you do best.”

As you read, Ice turns and places his hand over your heart, “And that’s simply being you.” His whisper catches you off guard and it makes you crumple. Without another word, he pulls you into a hug, your face buried in his shoulder.

He just holds you for a moment, allowing you time to gather yourself. Ice kisses the top of your head as he pulls back, his eyes straying on you as you wipe at your eyes with the back of your hand.

“There’s something on your mind, isn’t there?” He types, the question causing you to laugh dryly, “How’d you know?”

Ice coughs a little as he smiles, “I’m your Dad, I always know.” You chuckle as his finger slams against the period button, his eyebrows raising at you.

He clears the screen before typing, “Talk to me.”

You lean back in your chair as you reread the words a couple of times. Sniffing, you look at him, “Did you know I was being sent here for the mission?”

He nods.

“Did you have anything to do with it, by chance?” You ask. Despite what you had told the others, you had been asking yourself if the admiral was the real reason you were here.

Ice shakes his head as he types, “They sent me a list and I approved it. You were on it, but that had nothing to do with me. That was all you.”

“But I’m not good with a team, Dad.” You remind him.

He waves you off, his fingers moving across the keyboard quickly, “Yes, you are. You’re a natural leader.”

“I’m not, though.” You protest, at a loss for where your dad is coming from as he continues, “You are. You always have been, even before you were flying. I always saw it through how you are with your siblings.”

As you read the text on the screen a part of you has to admit he’s right. Being the oldest, you grew up with a knack for keeping the littles in check. Still, there’s doubt that crawls around inside of you.

“I just...” You pause, scratching at the back of your neck, “I don’t feel ready.”

“How come?” Ice types out, his eyes questioning as he looks at you.

You shake your head as your gaze drops to your hands, “I’m still stuck in the past. Every time I go up Comet is the first thing I think of.” You glance back up to your dad, who is staring back as he waits for you to continue, “All that goes through my head is what if what happened to him, happens to someone else?”

There’s a certain type of understanding in Ice’s eyes as he listens to you speak, his head nodding along with your words. You let out a sigh, looking towards the glass doors. Looking through them, you watch the trees blow in the wind for a second.

“I don’t know.” You start, wringing your hands together tightly, “This mission doesn’t guarantee a safe return home.” Your voice grows quieter as you turn back to Ice, “The people I could be flying it with... I care about them so much and the idea of anything happening-”

Ice quickly taps on the table, the sudden sound bringing your voice to a stop. He is typing on his keyboard before you can question him, “Those flying with you are some of the best pilots and people I’ve ever met. Seeing what they can do in the sky is always beyond impressive and the greatest pleasure.”

You can feel his eyes back on you as you read. Once you’re finished, he begins typing again, “They accept the risks, and they continue to fly because it’s their job. It’s your job. And all of you are exceptional at what you do.”

Ice points at the screen once he’s finished, which only adds to how strongly he feels about what he’s telling you. After reading it, you face him with a watery smile, not being able to find the words.

“None of you know what could happen. All you know is that you’ll be flying this mission together. As a team, as one.” Ice types, and you know that he’s speaking from experience.

You shrug and take a deep breath, “It still scares me, though.”

Ice nods his head as he writes, “It always will. I saw it first hand when it happened to Maverick, and I saw it again when it happened to you.” His hands hesitate over the keys for a second before continuing, “It broke my heart both times, but I also watched as you built yourself back up and flew again.”

Your dad only adds on to his words as you read, tears welling in your eyes, “It’s made you stronger and more experienced. Even despite the loss, you’re still you.”

“I still worry... more than I ever used to.” You tell him quietly.

“That’s not a bad thing.” He types quickly, “It’s natural. It’s human.”

You find yourself nodding as you read, your throat tight. Ice motions to you before typing, “Do you still wear his tags?”

A small smile tugs at your lips as you silently pull the chain out from under your shirt. Fanning the tags out against the palm of your hand, you turn them towards Ice. He leans forward and stares at yours and Comet’s names next to each other.

“I always wear them.” You say softly, your voice barely a whisper.

Ice’s eyes shine a little as he turns and types, “He was a good kid.”

You nod a bit, your finger tracing over his name, “He was. He really was.”

Reaching over, Ice gently squeezes your shoulder. You place your free hand on top of his as you clear your throat before speaking, “Um, when I was talking to Rooster a little big ago... He liked the idea of me still wearing them when I go up in the air because it’s... kind of as if Comet is still flying with me.”

You hear a sniff and look up to find tears in Ice’s eyes. Your face twists as you hold his hand tighter, remembering how fond he was of your friend. With a deep breath, Ice turns towards his keys, “He is still flying with you. He’d be so beyond proud of you, you know.”

In reading the last line you feel hot tears blossom in your eyes. A smile of agreement pulls at your lips before you feel your composure break, “God, I miss him so much.” The words come out as a sob, leaving you gasping for a breath.

Ice pulls you into a hug, his arms wrapping around you so tightly as you fall against him. Your heart aches and so much of you just wants to stay in this moment, in his arms where you know that it’s safe and that he’s here.

But the moment still ends, just as the earth still spins. Ice gently pulls back, pausing to wipe the tears off your face and truly look at you. Your lip wobbles as you stare back. You can see all the love and pride he has for you circling in his eyes, and you feel as though you’re about to crumple all over again.

As he turns to type on his keyboard, you breathe deeply at an attempt to regain some of your composure. Ice moves quickly over the keys, “Comet will always be a part of you. I’ve notice that you’ve always seen that as some sort of weakness, when really it’s a great strength.”

Ice glances over at you before continuing, “You learned to fly together. Everything you know you learned with him by your side.” You feel yourself nodding along as more tears fall, “He may be gone, but he lives through you.”

You don’t know what to say. As you reread his words over and over again, you can tell that he’s said them before... to someone very special to you.

Thumbing over the dog tags still clasped tightly in your hand, you sigh, “I’ve never thought about it in that way before.”

“It’s hard to.” Ice types, “But I know you will be able to.”

You shrug a little, unsure. Still, you give him a small smile, “Thank you, Dad.”

His smile mirrors yours, only bigger. He holds tightly to your hand before typing, “Have you talked about it yet?”

You shoot him a confused look, “Yeah... back when it happened, you know that.”

Ice shakes his head and types, “That’s not what I mean.”

A sinking feeling fills your gut, pulling at your heart. Letting your gaze fall to your hands, you utter a quiet, “No. I haven’t been able to.”

“It will help.” Ice types slowly, his eyes filled with nothing but concern and understanding.

You can’t help but chuckle a little, “You sound like Rooster.”

“The kid knows.” Ice writes, giving you a pointed look. You nod. Bradley has dealt with his own terrible loses before. Ones you know that he still carries with him.

“Promise me you’ll try to talk about it.” Ice types, “Whether it be with him, or Maverick. Or anyone, really. Just talk about it.”

He watches you closely as you read. Looking over to him once you’re done, you can see the pain in his eyes. The pain of knowing that your child is hurting but there’s truly nothing you can do to help.

All you can do for him is nod, “I’ll try.” Ice smiles but then points at a word on the screen. You follow his finger and laugh lightly, “I promise, Dad.”

Ice smiles at you before motioning for you to stand. You do and help him get to his feet, your hands not leaving his arms even once he’s standing. He looks at you and cups the sides of your face as he clears his throat, “I’m so proud of you.” He says slowly.

You raise your eyebrows at the sound of his voice, pride swelling in your chest. He laughs at your expression before reaching into his pocket. Ice motions for you to hold your hand out and once you do he places something in your palm.

Glancing down, you find that it’s his dog tags. Turning them over to see his name, you pause for a moment before looking back to him, “Dad... what?”

Ice just smiles as he closes your hand around the tags and holds your closed fist to his chest, “I want you to have these...” He says softly, his voice scratchy yet so sure, “To remember that I’ll always be flying with you, too.”

The words hit you like a truck. For the first time since you got here, it fully clicks that he really doesn’t have much time left in this life. You feel tears roll down your face as your breath catches in your throat.

Tom Kazansky is dying, and you are both so painfully aware of it. A sob finds its way out of you as you fall into your dad’s already open arms. Burying your face in his shoulder, you hold him so tightly, never wanting to let go.

“I don’t want to lose you.” You cry, your voice muffled by his sweater. He just holds you tighter, his cheek pressed against your hair, “It will be okay...”

You pull back, shaking your head, “I don’t know how to do this without you.” You tell him, your voice trembling as you hold onto his arms.

He smiles sadly and thumbs away a tear, “My dear Wonder... everything you’ve accomplished is because of you, not me.” You’re already shaking your head no but he isn’t finished, “All I did was show you the way... you did the rest.”

You can’t breathe. His words suddenly feel too much like a goodbye. A goodbye that you’re not ready for. Ice can see the realization cross your features and just hugs you once more, his own eyes welling with tears.

He hugs you with everything that he has, ensuring that the embrace is full of nothing but love. Ice kisses the top of your head, “You’re a wonder, my darling. Never forget it.”

You just hold him so much tighter as a sob shakes your body, “I love you, Dad. So much.”

He rubs his hand in circles on your back, his voice quiet in your ear as he speaks, “I love you too. More than you’ll ever know.”

You both stay in the embrace for a while, neither one wanting to let go. But just as the day turns into night, this too must end. Ice is the one that pulls away first, his hands finding the sides of your face as he thumbs away your tears in a way only a father could.

“Keep flying, my wonder.” He whispers to you, the tears finally falling from his eyes.

Seeing the Iceman cry was a rare sight. But this wasn’t just Ice. This was Tom. This was your father... and he was saying goodbye.

With the words stuck in your throat, all you can do is hug him, and simply hope that he knows just how much he means to you.

He does, and you feel it in your heart when he hugs you back. You close your eyes as you lean into his hold, so much of you never wanting this moment to end.

☆☆☆

You don’t know how long you had stayed at your parents house, but by the time you were returning to base the sun was low in the sky. It cast a golden glow across the horizon as you drove through the gate, your windows down as the warm air blew through your car.

As you walk through the halls, you take note of the commotion that is the aviators wrapping up their day of training. Running a hand through your hair, you let your feet lead you to the rec room.

The second you enter the room you’re greeted with several waves and a chorus of hey’s and hello’s. You wave back before making a beeline for Rooster, who is leaning against the back wall as he stares out the window.

He looks over at you as you approach him, a smile immediately growing on his face at the sight of you. You can’t help but grin as well, just seeing him easing some of the weight off of your shoulders.

“How are you?” He asks, pushing himself off of the wall in favor of coming closer to you. You pretend that the simple action doesn’t send your stomach into a fit of flips.

“I’m fine.” You answer softly. The two of you stare at each other for a moment. You can see the way his eyebrows draw closer in concern at the sight of your red rimmed eyes, but thankfully he doesn’t question it.

You’re grateful to him for it. Instead of speaking, he just reaches down and interlaces his fingers with your own, giving your hand a squeeze. You squeeze back.

Rooster always knew how to make sure that you knew he was always there, even without saying anything. You appreciate him so much for it. More than he’ll ever know.

You two finally break away from each other when the door opens, revealing Maverick. He looks over everyone before clapping his hands together, a smile on his face, “Alright kids, that’s enough for today. It looks like you all are in dire need of some fun.”

You feel the confusion fill the room, the others exchanging glances with each other. Payback is the one who questions Maverick, “What do you mean, sir?”

Maverick just smiles wider, “We’re going on a field trip.” Is all he says before turning on his heel and motioning for everyone to follow him. You look to Rooster, who looks back with an equally lost expression.

“A field trip?” Hangman asks as he pulls himself off of the leather couch, “What are we, eight?”

“In his eyes, pretty much.” Rooster says. You chuckle at the comment, as you know just how true it is.

☆☆☆

Not even an hour later you all were bunched together on the beach. Maverick was explaining the rules of a game he called “Dogfight Football”, one that he himself had invented back in the day.

You’re grateful for the distraction from the days earlier events, filling your competitive nature come to the surface as you line up with your team. From next to you, Phoenix gives you a fist bump as the two of you get ready to play.

Pushing your sunglasses up against your nose, you look over to the opposing side, and feel heat rush to your face when you catch sight of Rooster. For a moment you feel yourself forget where you are as you stare at the way his toned body catches the sunlight.

An elbow nudging against your arm pulls your attention away from the man, “I don’t have to worry about you gawking at Bradshaw, do I?”

You blink at her as your mouth falls open, “Gawking? Wha- no. No, I won’t- no.” Your stuttering only causes her to shake her head as a smile grows on her face, “Get it together, Wonder.”

“I am together.” You state, shaking out your hands, “I am so together right now.”

“Mhm. Prove it, babe.” Phoenix says, causing you to laugh as Maverick shouts for everyone to get ready. You bend down, mirroring Hangman as he readies himself with the ball next to you.

Looking forward, you lock eyes with Rooster and smile. He points at you as he grins, “You’re going down, Kazansky.”

“In your dreams, Bradshaw.” You cock your head to the side, a smile playing on your lips.

He doesn’t get the chance to answer as his words get cut off by the sound of Hondo’s whistle. In the next second, you’re all surging towards each other, getting caught up in a jumble of sand and sweat.

The game ensues with a chorus of yelling, tackling, and some well needed laughter. As it goes on, you do find yourself going against Phoenix’s wishes and casting maybe one too many glances towards Rooster.

Well, it isn’t really your fault. The man is quite literally built like a god and fucking glistening. It’s unfair for someone to look that good. Damn him.

After a good amount of rounds, you’ve all lost score and Maverick has tapped out, earning a chorus of groans from the others as the man tosses the ball to Phoenix before opting to just watch.

The disappointment is short lived as everyone lines up again, smiles all around. You find yourself across from Rooster once more and have to physically keep yourself from cussing him out as he has the audacity to wink at you from above his sunglasses.

Oh, he is so going down.

Nudging Hangman, you shoot him a look and he nods back, a smirk playing on his face. You turn forward, fingers twitching slightly as you bend down. The second Hondo blows the whistle, you run to the side, just as Hangman throws the ball your way.

You catch it and turn on your heel before tossing it to Phoenix. You motion towards the goal and she gives you a quick nod before weaving her way between the others. You do the same, kicking up sand as you sprint to the designated goal spot.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Rooster right behind you, his attention drawn to Phoenix. It takes less than a second for you to realize that he saw your exchange.

“Shit-” You breathe out, head whipping around as Phoenix yells for you. You watch her throw the ball your way and lift your head as you follow it with your eyes. Running forward with your arms outstretched, you jump up in order to bring yourself closer to the ball.

Unfortunately for you, Rooster had the same idea. Your fingers are just barely brushing against the ball when he collides with you, sending both of you to the sandy ground.

You land hard on your side, the ball just barely out of reach. You feel rather than see Rooster land next to you, a grunt leaving him as he stumbles into the sand. Stars cross your vision for a second, but leave the moment you shake your head.

Rooster’s body brushes up against yours as he shifts himself to stand. As he does, a devious idea crosses your mind. Eyeing the ball, you lift yourself to a crouching position before bringing a hand to your head.

Your fingers brush across the bandages and you let out a slightly dramatized hiss of pain. The second the sound leaves your mouth you can see Rooster’s head snap towards you.

If his immediate concern didn’t make your heart flutter as much as it did, you would have laughed at his reaction.

“Shit, Wonder-” He starts, kneeling in front of you, “Are you okay? I didn’t-”

His words stop abruptly as you stick your tongue out him, causing his mouth to fall open. With a laugh, you lurch forward and grab the ball. You’re on your feet and sprinting towards the goal before he can even process what just happened.

“Oh, you dirty little cheater!” Rooster yells after you. All you can do is laugh triumphantly as you cross over to the goal, holding the ball up in victory. You can hear your team cheering behind you, a wide smile on your face as you yell out.

Rooster runs up to you and grabs you by the waist, spinning you around. You laugh out of surprise, your back pressed against his chest as he holds you. Feeling the heat rise in your face, you try to pretend its just the adrenaline as he brings you back to your feet.

“I can’t believe you!” He says, though his laughter shakes his voice to a point where if you didn’t know him so well, you would have no idea what he was saying.

You just shrug, your face beginning to hurt from how hard you’re smiling, “Not my fault that you fall for me so easily.” As the words leave your mouth, you turn on your heel just as you catch Rooster’s reaction of pure shock.

He stutters a bit behind you, what you said leaving both him and you surprised. Once your back is turned to him, your eyes widen at yourself as you hold the ball to your chest.

What the hell, Kazansky? You internally scold yourself.

But all confusion from your burst of confidence drifts away as your team runs up to you, shaking your shoulders and screaming in triumph.

“That was hilarious!” Phoenix says in your ear over the shouts of everyone else. You smile at her but your smile turns into a startled laugh when you feel arms under your legs and behind your back.

Dropping the ball and turning to the side, you can see nothing but your goofy grin in Hangman’s sunglasses. You throw your arms up in victory as he holds you up, the others crowded around as they chant your name.

“I knew I always wanted to be on a team with you.” Hangman chuckles as he lowers you back to the ground. You smile and pat his shoulder, “Smart man.”

He just smiles back widely as he offers you a little bow before turning towards the others. You roll your eyes at the man and his antics. An arm thrown across your shoulders brings you to look off to the side, squinting at the setting sun.

“Well played, Wonder.” Rooster says as he rubs his hand along your arm. You reach up and squeeze his hand, “Why thank you, Rooster.”

He stares at you for a moment and it’s only then when you realize he’s no longer where his sunglasses. Your eyes flick up to find them nestled on the top of his head, amongst his curls. It takes everything in you not to reach up and push back a stray hair on his forehead.

“Hey, lovebirds!” Both of your heads snap towards the Hard Deck as Hangman yells out to you, “Mav is buying us all a drink, move it or lose it!”

You shake your head as you take Rooster’s arm off of your shoulders, your hand sliding down his arm in favor of taking his own in yours. You surprise yourself with the smoothness of the action but pay it no mind as you pull the man towards the bar.

After thanking Maverick for not only the drink, but for the game, you find yourself sitting down on the shoreline, the water swirling around your feet. Your fingers are unconsciously circling around in the damp sand when, your eyes drawn to the setting sun on the horizon.

The sand shifts a bit as someone sits down next to you, and you turn to see Rooster, a bottle in his hand. You smile at him as you take a drink from your own, allowing your eyes to drift across the beach as you see the others sprawled around in the sand.

Sighing deeply, you lean your body against Rooster. He leans back and nudges at your arm a bit with his elbow, “How are you doing?”

You chuckle, “Roo, I was just pretending with the whole head thing. It didn’t actually hurt.”

He drops his head as he smiles, “I know, hon.” His gaze drifts back to you and you can’t help but notice how the deep browns are reflecting the golden sun in the most perfect way.

“I was just asking how my best girl is doing.” Rooster tells you, his voice quiet.

You breathe out through your nose as you pull your eyes away from his, “I’m fine.”

He’s shaking his head, his fingers playing with the condensation on the bottle in his hands, “Y’know, you do this thing a lot where you hide what’s really going on.”

Rooster turns his head towards you, and you feel your breath catch in your throat at the slight sadness swimming through his eyes, “Please don’t do that with me. Not now.”

Oh. You feel your face scrunch up as you sniff and drop your gaze to the glass bottle hanging loosely in your hands, “I don’t mean to.”

“I know you don’t.” Rooster says quickly, turning his body towards you, “Just... talk to me. If you want.”

You can’t help but smile at him. God, why is he so good. There’s a slight heat growing behind your eyes as you speak, “I do want to. It’s just...” You trail off, the words failing you.

“Difficult?” Rooster suggests. You exhale slowly and nod, “Yeah.”

Rooster is quiet for a moment, and you watch how he gently sets his bottle down in the sand before taking your hand in his own, “Well... just start slow. Start with what you did this morning, then let the rest follow.”

You stare at him for a second, feeling it in your heart that those exact words have been said to him before. For a reason very similar to your own. Your throat tightens, you always knew that of all people Rooster would be able to understand the most, but God does it hurt to know it.

Looking down to your intertwined hands, you sniff as you recall your day, “I went and saw my dad.” You’re not even sure your voice can be heard over the waves, but with how Rooster’s body stiffens you know that he caught it.

He was one of the first people you told after you had found out about Ice when he first got sick years ago. He’s been with you every step of the way and has been a continuous rock in your life. Every part of you is painfully aware that you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him.

“How is he?” He asks quietly. You shrug, “Nobody knows.”

Silence falls between the two of you for a moment. Sure, nobody is certain... but it isn’t hard to guess how things will go. It isn’t hard at all. In fact, it’s so easy that it feels like it’s tearing a hole through your heart just thinking of how the world could be so cruel. So cruel to make something like this so... so simple.

Feeling hot tears make their unwelcome appearance in your eyes, you look away from Rooster and towards the sunset, “It... felt like a goodbye.” Your breath hitches as you finally say it, “The way he was talking to me... what he was saying.”

You squint at the orange of the sun, taking a drink. Rooster’s hold on your hand tightens, “Do you think it was?”

You can only shrug again, not wanting to make a definite answer, “I don’t want to think about it at all.” Rooster is quiet after that, but still nods along in understanding. It’s no walk in the park to talk about someone you love dying, he knows that. All too well.

Shifting in the sand, you reach into the pocket of your gym shorts and pull out Ice’s tags, holding them with your free hand as you show them to your companion, “He gave me these.” You tell him as you drop them into his open palm.

He thumbs over the engraving of Ice’s name, “Why?” He asks softly, looking over to you. The second your eyes meet his you feel a tear fall. Angrily wiping it away, you shake your head, “I told him how I still wear Comet’s.”

Rooster doesn’t pull his gaze away from you as you continue, “And... how it’s like he’s still flying with me.” You watch as Rooster returns the tags before clasping his hand around your closed fist, the necklace safe between the two of your hands.

Your face crumples a bit, “He said now he can fly with me too.” You voice is nothing more than a whisper. Rooster holds your hands tightly in his own, the look in his eyes offering you nothing but comfort and warmth.

What you would give to just stay within them forever. You lean into his touch as he reaches up and holds the side of your face, thumbing away the tears.

Closing your eyes, you let out a deep breath, “I knew it was a goodbye.” His hand drops to your arm, pulling you a little closer to him, “You did?”

You nod, “The minute I went home I knew it. That’s why I didn’t want to go... I just tried to focus on the mission and nothing else-” Your voice breaks off at the end and that’s all it takes before Rooster is enveloping you in a hug. You wrap your arms around his back, your head falling against his shoulder.

He holds you tightly for a moment before speaking, “Did you say everything you needed to?”

You almost laugh, “Barely.”

Rooster’s hold only tightens, “I’m sure he knows, though.”

You nod a little, feeling yourself trying to hide from the world as you melt into his hold. Your eyes fall closed and you squeeze them tightly, “I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.”

Rooster rubs his hand along your back, in the same comforting way he knows helps you, “You’ll feel lost for a bit... but you’ll persevere. You always do. Besides,” He pulls back the smallest amount, just enough to see your face, “You’ll never be alone. We’re all going to be here for you.”

All you can do is nod, the words getting stuck in your throat. Rooster smiles a little at you as he leans forward and kisses your forehead. Your eyes slip closed, the small action filling your heart with so much raw emotion that it’s almost overwhelming.

“It’ll be okay, I promise.” Rooster says as he pulls you back to him, his cheek resting against your hair, “It’ll hurt like hell... but it will be okay.”

You hold him tighter, feeling as though he is the only thing that’s keeping you grounded, “Thank you..” You whisper.

“I’ll always be here.” He tells you, his voice soft but so sure. Those four simple words pull at your heart as you hug him.

A part of you is left wondering how true his statement really is.

☆☆☆

The next day you’re cleared to go into the air, which fills you with excitement before it all comes crashing down as the day goes on. Maverick had briefed you all on the tight turns and G’s you’d have to pull in order to avoid detection from enemy SAM’s.

Just like before though, there was nothing but failure and building frustration coursing through everyone as each group went up into the sky. It was all just one thing after another that left everyone feeling more and more doubtful of the success rate for the mission.

Maverick wasn’t holding back though. With each failure, he’d face the team with a question of, “Why are you dead?” Which only caused the aviators to stutter over their words and allow the true gravity of the mission to weigh down on their shoulders.

You could do nothing but watch as each team went up for their run, only to come back down marked as a fail. Coyote breaks too suddenly and sends Phoenix and Bob flying right into the SAM’s range.

Hangman goes too fast and leaves Payback and Fanboy scrambling off course. Rooster is slow and steady, but only frustrates Yale and Omaha as the window for an enemy encounter expands by the second.

You almost make it, but fail right at the end with Fritz and Halo on your tail. Slamming your hands against your controls, your head falls back against your seat as you breathe out deeply. Your heart is still racing from the panic you had felt leading the other two through the course.

“Why are you dead?” Maverick is standing before you back in the briefing room. The air is stale and silent as you stare back at him with nothing to say. He nods in place of your silence and opts for dismissing everyone before the tension gets too high.

Getting up even before Maverick is finished speaking, you run your hands down your face as you walk through the hall, moving quickly to get back to your room.

As you round a corner however, you’re met with the wall of frustration that is Fritz. He’s got a couple inches on you and is staring down at you with fire in his eyes.

Stepping back slightly, you offer him an apologetic look, “Fritz, I’m sorry-”

Your attempt at an apology is cut off as Fritz points at your chest, “You were supposed to be team leader up there, but all you did was lead us into the ground.”

You feel your words get caught in your throat. Fritz had always been someone you admired, someone who was always quick to offer help to anyone. But looking at the man before you, you find that you can’t recognize him as the same giddy cadet you knew back at the academy.

“I- it was just training, Fritz.” You say, nothing but confusion circling through your head at his reaction.

He scoffs at you, “Yeah, well it won’t always be.”

You can feel the straying gazes of other aviators as they cross through the hall, but you can’t find it in you to care as you face Fritz with a firm stare. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Halo send an apologetic look your way from where she stands behind her pilot.

“What’s your problem, Fritz?” You ask him, your hands on your hips.

“My problem is you.” He bites back, his face red.

You blink, “Huh?”

Fritz steps closer, which only causes you to step away as he speaks, “Every time you go up there it’s clear your mind is somewhere else. That’s dangerous.”

His voice is growing louder with every word as he continues without letting you cut in, “Especially if you’re working with a team. If you’re leading a team.”

“Fritz-” You start but he cuts you off again, “What are you so afraid of?” He asks, his voice low.

There’s a fire that has started burning inside of you, nothing but his audacity being the fuel to it. You find that you don’t have anything to say to him, which only allows him to keep going, “I really question why you’re here. You fly recklessly and without a thought of others around you. You’re a solo pilot, so why the hell are you here?”

You stare at him in surprise, each word coming from his mouth nothing that you would’ve ever expected him to say. Fritz grins something terrible, “Unless of course, dear old dad pulled some strings.”

In that moment Halo steps forward and grabs onto his arm, “Fritz-” But she never gets the chance to finish as you step towards the man, the fire spreading, “Don’t you dare talk about my father. I earned my spot here just the same as everyone else.”

Fritz’s lips form a hard line as he shakes Halo’s hands off of his arm, “Yeah? Well, everyone here knows how to fly with a team.” He steps so close that you can feel his hot breath ghosting across your face, “Meanwhile you fly solo because you’re stuck in the past and too scared to do otherwise.”

You’re fuming as you lowly say to him, “You’re walking a thin line, Fritz.”

He faces you with a smug grin, “What are you going to do, huh? Cry to daddy?”

You clench your fists at you sides, so tightly you can feel your nails digging into your palms. Shock crosses across Halo’s face as she tries to get Fritz to back down again, “Hey, that’s enough.”

Once again, he ignores her. You can hear foot steps from behind you, but you pay them no mind as you stare unblinkingly back at Fritz.

“Well, Wonder,” He practically spits your name, “Got anything to say?”

You bite your tongue. You have many things to say to him, but you were raised to be a decent enough person to keep them from passing your lips.

Fritz huffs as he stares at you, his hands resting on his hips, “What would Comet think if he saw you now?”

You’re entire body goes rigid at the mention of your late partner’s name. Fritz doesn’t have a single right to bring him into this conversation.

“He looked up to you, and what did you do for him?” Fritz’s voice is low as he looks down at you, “You buried him in the ground.”

You feel the tears that had been building up in your eyes finally fall. Nothing could have prepared you for what Fritz was going to say. There was no reason to bring Comet into this.

Fritz moves ever closer and shoves at your chest, causing you to stumble back a couple of steps, “No doubt you won’t do the same to the rest of us if they somehow make you team leader. Or even choose you for the mission to begin with.”

You can’t bring yourself to look away as he continues, your words caught in your tightening throat, “All you are is a sad excuse for an aviator. You fly alone, too scared that someone else is going to end up like poor Comet... just another back seater doomed to death by their pilot.”

Anger shoots through you as your eyes flick to Fritz’s WSO. Halo’s expression mirrors your own.

“You didn’t deserve him.” Fritz is still going, “But hey, since he was flying with you maybe it was a relief to be killed-”

The rest of his words are choked back into his throat as you punch him. Your fist connects with his nose and you hear a crack before the man falls backwards onto the ground. You’re on top of him in the next second, gripping the collar of his flight suit in your hands, “How fucking dare you!” You yell, your voice breaking just as you pull your arm back for another hit.

Hands around your arms stop you and yank you off of the man, who curls up on his side to hold his bleeding nose. You struggle against whoever is holding you as your feet leave the ground for a second because of how fast they pull you back.

You’re seeing red as you stare at Fritz, still laying on his side with no one moving to help him. Not even Halo, who just stares down blankly at her pilot. You’re chest is heaving with uneven breaths as you pull against the hands holding onto your arms.

Your vision blurs with tears and in the next second someone is in front of you, their gentle hands on your shoulders. Shaking your head you look up slightly and see Rooster in front of you, saying your name.

All of sudden the fire inside of you goes out. The fight leaves you. All you can see is his concerned expression as he speaks to you, not a word of it making it to you due to the loud ringing in your ears. You can feel the others hold on you lessen as you go slack, your arms dropping to your sides.

Without a word, your turn around and walk away, only just barely hearing Rooster call after you.

Back in your barracks room, you can nothing but sit on your bed with your head in your hand. The hand you used to punch Fritz hangs limply at your side, your knuckles throbbing slightly from the hit.

You don’t know how long you’ve been in the darkened room, but you know it’s long enough for word to have gotten to the admirals. You groan at the thought of what they’re going to have to say about all of this.

A soft knock at your door brings you to lift your head from your hand, only to find Rooster peeking out from behind the door. He offers you a small smile as he waves a bit, “Can I come in?”

You can’t help the way your lips tug up ever so slightly as you nod at him, shifting over to make room for him on your twin sized mattress. He sits down hesitantly, his fingers drumming against his knees.

You don’t look at him. There’s a silence that falls between you two, but you can’t bring yourself to break it. Rooster however, doesn’t have to.

He offers his hand out to you and you give him a quizzical look. Grinning a little, he motions towards your bruising knuckles. You sigh and gently place your hand into his own.

He holds it gingerly, his fingers slowly working their way across the back of your hand as he rubs at the blossoming bruises. Neither of you speak, but you can tell that there’s a lot on his mind.

You’re not sure how much of yours and Fritz’s falling out, but you know it was enough for him to look at you the way he did.

“If you’re here to ridicule me, then save your breath.” You say suddenly, not in the mood to be yelled at like a child that did something wrong, “I’m sure I’ll never hear the end of it from the admiral’s.”

Rooster shakes his head, his attention still on your hand, “No, that’s not why I’m here. Besides,” He glances up at you, “the others are making sure that Cyclone and Warlock know exactly what happened.”

He smiles ever so slightly at your raised eyebrow, “Because, y’know, Fritz went running to them like a dog with his tail between his legs.”

A small “Ah.” comes out of you as you drop your gaze to your lap.

“But no...” Rooster continues, “I’m not one to ridicule. Especially after hearing what he said to you.”

Your shoulders tense as Fritz’s words circle through your head. The gentle movements of Rooster’s thumb across your knuckles brings you back as he speaks, “That was one hell of a punch though.”

You frown, “I shouldn’t have done it.”

“He deserved it.” The sudden seriousness to Rooster’s voice brings you to look at him, “He shouldn’t have said a damn word to you.”

You shake your head, “He was just angry.”

“That’s not an excuse, Wonder!” You face Rooster with a surprised look as his voice grows. His face is tinged red and his hold on your hand tightens. Upon realizing how he yelled, he takes a moment to breathe before continuing in a softer tone, “Nothing can excuse what he said, or how he acted. Nothing.”

You sniff and angrily wipe at the tears that had begun to overflow. Goddamn it you’re tired of crying. Silence falls between you both again, and Rooster goes back to gently circling his thumb across your purpling knuckles.

You watch as he moves with such care, the simple movements pulling at your heart more than you thought it could. In giving his hand a little squeeze, Rooster looks up at you. You smile slightly at him as you reach over and brush a stray curl off of his forehead, “Thanks for holding me back.”

He chuckles and ducks his head, “A part of me wishes I hadn’t.”

You shrug, “I had no intention of stopping.” You turn a little as you lean your back against the wall, your head resting on the cool stone, “I don’t know what I would’ve done had you all not been there.”

Rooster mirrors your position but doesn’t let go of your hand, “We’re a team. More than that... and we’ll always be here.” He nudges you with his elbow, “Even when things are tough.”

The word “team” tugs at your heart. Looking off to the side, your eyes drift over the string of photos that are hung above your head board. It was a temporary decoration that you put up to try and make the cramped room feel a little more like home.

You let out a deep breath as you trace across the photos with your eyes, “Fritz was right, though.”

Rooster starts next to you, “What?”

You look back to him, “About me always flying solo.”

Rooster stares back at you with the most baffled look but you ignore it as you keep going, “After what happened I’ve never been able to really click with a team like I used to.”

“Well, no one expected you to just jump back from it.” Rooster says softly, pressing the side of his head as he turns to look at you. You do the same, pulling your legs closer to your body, “Yeah, but it’s been years.”

“That doesn’t matter, Wonder.” Rooster’s voice is so impossibly quiet you’re sure you’ve imagined it for a second. But with the sincerity in his eyes, and the way his brows crease together, you know you didn’t. He shrugs a little, “Time can only heal so much.”

You know he’s right but a part of you is still stuck on what Fritz said. You shouldn’t be as hung up on it as you are, but your growing insecurities from over the years are hanging onto it as if it’s a life line.

“I don’t think I should’ve been called back here.” You say simply. Rooster’s eyes go wide, “Wonder-”

“I don’t.” You stop him gently, “It should’ve been someone else.”

There’s a glint of anger in Rooster’s eyes as he shakes his head, “No. No, I’m not going to sit here and let you say that about yourself.” He shifts closer to you, clasping your hand within both of his and brining it to his chest.

Rooster stares at you with such a look that you can’t bring yourself to look away as he begins talking, “You are one of the best goddamn pilots I have ever seen. I’ve never flown with someone like you, and it just blows my mind that you still can’t see your talent.”

You feel tears well up in your eyes as your head shakes slightly, “Rooster-”

“I’m not done.” He says quickly. The way he says it makes your heart flutter as you close your mouth, fixing him with an expectant stare. He just looks back at you for a second before continuing, “You’ve gone through so much, and yet you’re still here. You’re still flying and still working your ass off.”

Rooster reaches over and wipes away a stray tear that you didn’t know had fallen, “What happened to you is unimaginable, yet you persevered and you made it, Wonder. And I know that Comet would be so incredibly proud of you.”

Your breath catches in your throat as hot tears roll down your face, “You think?”

He smiles at you, “I know. I know because I’m proud of you too. So is Maverick, so is your dad.” You feel your face contort with all types of emotions as you drop your gaze.

“Speaking of Ice...” Rooster says softly as he gently places his hand under your chin and lifts it so that you look at him, “He really was spot on with what he always said about you.”

You take his hand off of your chin in favor of holding it, “What would that be?”

“That you’re a wonder.” He smiles, his eyes filled with something you’ve never seen before. But whatever it is, God does it take your breath away.

Words abandon you and you’re left with nothing to say, so you simply lean forward and wrap your arms around him. He does the same to you without a second of hesitation.

Rooster holds you against him, his embrace warm and all too perfectly the exact thing that you needed. You lean your head against his shoulder, the sweet smell of his cologne surrounding you.

“You saying that means a lot, Roo.” You say softly, your voice slightly muffled by his shirt. He just holds you tighter, “It’s easy to say when it’s all true.”

You feel tears blossom in your eyes again but this time you don’t rush to wipe them away. You don’t think anything could get you to let go right now. Leaning deeper into the embrace, you let out a quiet, “Thank you for being here.”

Rooster smiles down at you and kisses the top of your head, “I always will be.”

Pulling back just enough to see his face, you take a deep breath, “I’m a different pilot than I was before... I know that.” Your words begin falling out of your mouth faster than you can think, “I feel it in everything that I do and- and I know sometimes it drives me to be either too hesitant or far too reckless.”

You pause to take a breath, and that’s when Rooster speaks, “That’s just how you fly... everyone flies differently.”

“But I miss how I used to be.” You tell him simply, your voice quiet but more firm than it’s been since he walked into the room.

He looks back at you with a glint of understanding in his eyes, “How was that?”

You sigh as you let the side of your head rest against the wall once more, “Carefree...”

Rooster sucks in a breath. He was with you almost every step of the way, from the first time you got into a plane, all the way to officially getting your wings. He knows how you were... and he knows how you are now.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to move past it.” You say, your eyes drawn to a cobweb in the corner of the room, “That’s what holds me back. That’s what makes is hard for me to work with others.”

Rooster gently places his hand on your knee, his thumb rubbing across the fabric of your flight suit. It’s warm and comforting against your skin.

“You’ll need to learn to let go... In order to move on, Wonder.” He says softly, his eyebrows drawing together as he looks at you. You stare back, tears in your eyes as you whisper, “I don’t know how.”

His gaze softens, “Just... take it one step at a time.” Your breath catches in your throat. You know where he’s going with this even before he says it, “Talk to me, Wonder.”

You chew on your lip as you let your eyes drift towards the ceiling, “I’m not ready.” You look back to Rooster, “Not yet. Not today.”

Rooster leans against you, a simple action to let you know that he’s there and not going anywhere. “That’s okay.” He tells you gently, “Just know that I’ll listen whenever you’re ready.”

That’s all you need. Nodding, you fall into his already opening arms that wrap around you in the tightest embrace. You allow yourself to just be held for a moment, your arms wrapped tightly around him.

“Rooster?” You ask.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.” You say softly.

He rubs his hand along your back, “For what?”

“For being here.” You tell him, your hands closing around the fabric of his shirt, “For being you.”

You’re not sure how it’s possible, but he holds you tighter, “I’ll always try to be, honey.” You smile as you bury your face in his shoulder, once again allowing his embrace to take you away from the troubles of the world around you.

Rooster rests his cheek against your head, “You really are a wonder, aren’t you?” His question makes you laugh, which fills your chest with warmth.

You peer up at him with a smile, “I try to be.” He laughs too, a good laugh that is nothing but a sweet melody to your tired ears.

☆☆☆

A/n: Fritz my dear I apologize, I needed someone to be a jerk but you did so well <3 Anywayy, I hope you all enjoyed!

Taglist: @alanadetigy @wiltedloves @datingbtr @It-b-rooster-bradshaw @adorephina @luckyladycreator2 @n3ssm0nique @m3laniehearts @emptyloverofmine @jonginvlog @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @revengze @nikie-amore @roses-and-grasses @red-ace-in-space @kanevill @rule107 @mads-weasley @jostyriggslover96 @obsessedunicorn24 @justanothermagicalsara @wintersoldiersthings @kallielikecali @cnmongirlsworld @pennbii @fogle97 @ollyoxenfrees @eviesaurusrex @turningtoclown @parker-natasha @mizzy-pop @haljordangreenjedi @whore-for-pennywise @callalily2000 @lydiaisgeeky @littlebadariell @alana4610 @tooflef @cevans-winchester @auggie2000 @whovianayesha @fandom-life-12 @soggy-max @roses-of-eden

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zuenvy · 2 months

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i made some I jst want to explain some things for my PDH rewrite

because idgaf twitter exists in 2004 and 2005 even tho it was created in 2006 . Please there’s werewolves in this universe who cares

🧏‍♂️ im not sure on how im going to shape their world yet. Since im going to focus on it being set in the 2000s and how teens used to act back then also affected by my own experience as a teen too. Plus, what is an aphmau rewrite if you don’t project 🤍

BUT because i enjoy aaron and aph a tad HE ISS NAWWT a super senior in this rewrite. they are a year apart 🤫 shhhhh

also i am not a travis and katelyn enjoyer sorry

#aphblr #pheonix drop high #aphmau pdh #aphmau #aphmau rewrite #it’s sooo messy rn give me some time I’ll fix it i beg #I love you Travis #Imagine if Dante got a lowww taper fadee #aphverse

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topgunruinedme · 3 months

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Guys…I just realised it’s been an entire year since I updated dagger daycare.

It does not feel like it was just long ago I swear I updated like two months ago 😅

I’m so sorry I how to didn’t realise how much time had passed.

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idkwhylou · 1 year

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Pain in the ass

Summary : You’re the new WSO of Phoenix but your relationship is somewhat complicated, one evening when you thought nothing was possible between you two, you took the courage to kiss her.

Natasha Trace x wso!reader/f!reader

A/N : I wrote this imagine thanks to this masterpiece, so if you liked the one shot please go like this one too !!!

»» ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ««

It hadn't been long since you were assigned as Natasha “Phoenix” Trace's WSO. For some reason that was still unknown to you the famous pilot needed a new WSO, you were so happy to be the back seater of Phoenix. She was well known in the world of aviation, enough that despite your young age you already knew her name. She was part of the Top Gun elite. It’s true that when you arrived on the first day at the base you did not really expect to be the youngest, you were surrounded by pilots older than you.

You were extroverted sometimes perhaps a little too much, but you loved to talk and discover new things. That's why your call sign was UTA, it meant "u talk alot". One of the first questions your new teammates asked you was what your call sign meant and when you answered them they looked desperate. That meant that if you talked so much from day one it wasn't just out of excitement. At the time you didn't really understand their reaction but later when you settled in your dormitory you promised yourself not to ruin everything and tried to contain yourself.

The last pilot you flew with, kinda left the state. Literally. He had been called to the other side of the country for a mission of the highest importance. Of course it wasn't because of you, but he made it clear to you before he left that not being in the air with you was a real relief. You didn't want this time to go like this, you wanted everything to go well, of course it was going to be impossible to take away your curious nature but you could always try to make an effort. But despite everything you promised yourself you would do not to ruin everything, you felt like people were already fed up with you.

The first day had barely started when some were already complaining about you, they said it in a humorous tone but made you understand to shut up when it was only breakfast. The fateful moment arrived quite quickly and you met Phoenix with whom you already knew that you were going to team up with her, while other pilots were awarded their WSO, the young woman turned slowly to look who could be “Lieutenant Y/L/N”.

You watched her carefully observe the people behind her before her eyes landed on you, you straightened up and sent her a big smile followed by a slight wave of your hand to say hello. She looked you up and down before turning to focus again on the Admiral in front of you.

Ouch.

As a first contact, it wasn't ideal, but you didn't get discouraged and told yourself that you had to wait for the rest of the day to really see how it went. Your relationship cannot be described by a simple glance, or so you thought. Once the Admiral had finished his explanations, you all left for the locker rooms to get properly equipped for this morning's training. You got up and hurried towards the locker room eager to get on the plane.

Since childhood you have developed a passion for aviation, so one day when you came home telling your parents that you had joined the Navy, they weren't really surprised. They were so happy for you but above all proud, of course they were still a little worried because the Navy remains a dangerous job but they weren't worried about your environment and your relationships.

But they should have.

Being an only child the attention has always been on you and no one else, of course you can stand not being the center of attention but you have always talked a lot and above all they have always listened to you attentively. But now things had changed and you had to accept it. You left the locker room with your helmet in hand before heading to the tarmac to wait with the other pilots, as you approached them you heard one of them talking but given the distance at which you were, it was incomprehensible. But once closer you manage to hear correctly what the pilot was saying, even if you would have preferred not to hear him in the end.

“Phoenix with UTA ! You’ll have fun.” Said a tall brunet, laughing softly mockingly.

“Good luck ! You’ll certainly need it.” Said another, tapping her on the shoulder before joining the other in his giggles.

The tall brunet turned his head and noticed that you were just there and that you had just heard everything, he stopped laughing and straightened up before slapping hard his friend in the shoulder to stop him too. The other pilot looked in front of him and his gaze fell on you, he froze and Phoenix who hadn't seen you yet since she was standing in front of them, turned around.

You didn't wait another minute and put your helmet on your head before continuing to walk straight ahead hoping to find your assigned plane quickly.

»» ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ««

The weeks passed and you could already tell that Phoenix didn't like you, at least that she didn't really have you in her heart. The sessions went pretty well, working together turned out to be child's play, but when your extroverted and curious side took over you felt that she quickly lost patience. You were her partner but you understood that for her you were only her new WSO, nothing more.

You had just left tech school, you were too impatient. Of course you wanted to do well and not make too many mistakes but after all unlike Phoenix you were only a beginner. You knew nothing of her ; neither her routine nor her landmarks. So even if during training everything went pretty well, it is true that you often encounter some small difficulties. You asked her a lot of questions, far too many for her liking. And when you would stop asking questions to focus, again you were talking too much.

Of course you wanted to do well and that it was from a good intention but Phoenix had a hard time supporting it, which you understood. So despite your defective relationship, you tried to catch up with the other pilots since it was already too late with Natasha. Little by little you managed to make some effort, which had allowed others to really want to listen to you. Now you were still talking as much but the pilots who worked with you had now learned that you were like that and that they had to accept it. Now they didn't think your remarks were stupid or unnecessary, they really listened to you even when it wasn't worth it.

Unlike the first day when you ended up cracking up in your bed at night once the lights went out, today you're happy to get up and go see the others. Of course the others continued to bother you a little bit but nothing compared to the first day. Your team saw that you were really trying to put in the effort and were grateful that you did. You had made efforts on your side about being a little too curious but also on your work, you focused a lot more and thought before asking a question realizing that you already knew the answer, you were just too anxious and did not want to do stupid mistake.

Despite all these efforts, your relationship with Phoenix did not seem to evolve.

In your eyes she was the coolest person you had ever met, she was so talented and good at what she did. She seemed so nice, smart, funny and kind with the others, but with you it was quite the opposite. She was cold. You didn't like that Phoenix. You liked the Phoenix who cared about others and was there for the people she loved. Despite your relationship you couldn't help but develop a little crush on Natasha, when you saw how she was with others she was just perfect.

She was beautiful inside and out, to be honest the first few days you were quite nervous around her. You couldn't resist the charm of the pilot.

But your exchanges consisted only of questions coming from you and very short answers coming from her. Most of the time you were talking to yourself, well you didn't think she was really listening to you. The only time you were sure she was listening was when you were in the air telling her what to do. You were really trying to be better every day so that you two started getting along really well but it's like she pushes you away every time. You felt like she was trying to put a huge wall between you.

It broke your heart but you had no choice but to accept. Even if she continued to avoid you completely you only continued to fall more and more in love with her, you did not know it yet but what you felt towards the pilot was not just a simple crush. But one day of training while you were in full flight you noticed that no matter what indications you gave her she did not listen to you, even if you spoke louder it was as if she did not hear you. The end of the assignment came quickly to your great relief.

When you got off the plane, Phoenix was already walking away from you and off the runway, she was angry. Even though you weren't close you started to understand how she was. You didn't even have time to put your foot on the ground when one of the pilots offered to come and have a drink with the rest of the team this evening. At first you were hesitant, it hadn't been that long since you had your first drink. You did not yet know your limits with alcohol and did not prefer to create excesses.

But as you were looking for a way to politely decline, the boy pouts at you before putting his hands on your shoulders. “Come on UTA, please…” He said dramatically.

You looked at him for a moment and realized you couldn't say no, so you agreed. He smiled at you and indicated you his dorm before turning to start walking inside the large building. You were a little surprised that you were invited to a "party" but you didn't think about it too much, telling yourself that you deserved to go have fun with your teammates.

»» ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ««

After a good shower you headed towards the dorm that your teammate had told you about earlier in the day, you slowly approached the door before hearing Phoenix's voice, which made you stop just short of hesitating to enter. You weren't expecting her to be there and honestly you didn't want to bother her, going back to your dorm seemed like the best option. But as you were about to turn on your heels to go back to your dorm, you heard your call sign. You couldn't help but strain your ears to listen carefully to what happened next.

“Oh don't even tell me about it.” Phoenix replied with a grunt.

“Come on Phoenix, she made some efforts. She's not that bad…” Added a voice that you didn't have time to recognize before the pilot spoke again.

“She’ s a pain in the ass ! She always asks a bunch of questions, she acts like it's all just a joke. The only thing she's done is talk, she can't even just shut up and do her job-”

You started walking quickly back to your dorm, deciding you'd heard enough. Admittedly you weren't the best there but you didn't expect Natasha to be so hurtful, at this point it wasn't even more than simple frankness, she had been mean. The worst thing is that again this morning you asked her if there was something and she again sure that there was nothing, while it is she says what she really thinks in front of you everyone except you.

But the worst was that the person you loved hated you.

»» ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ««

The days that followed, you were strangely calm and silent, your teammates no longer had the right to hear your little comments or your daily questions. At first it was not scary, some were relieved but over time they started to worry. You could be silent for a day for a certain reason, but not for four days. Since the evening when you heard what your pilot had said about you, you had been cooled. You didn't want to talk anymore to say nothing lest she complain again to your teammates.

“UTA.” Someone called you, the voice was not unknown, you recognised zed it too quickly, you continued to walk on completely ignoring it, just like she had done with you.

“Y/N !” Cried the young woman again behind you. You froze in place, disturbed by the fact that she had just called you by your first name. You were sure it was the very first time she called you by your first name and not your call sign.

The fact that you liked the way your name came out of her mouth so much annoyed you. After the way she treated you and was with you you couldn't have feelings for her, but no matter how much you pushed them away they came back every time. You turned around and watched the young woman walk towards you, once you faced her she accelerated slightly to reach you faster. “You're okay ?” She asked simply.

You frowned at her unexpected question, “Uhm yeah, that wasn't me yelling two seconds ago.” You say trying to stay cool.

But the only thing you could do at the moment was lose yourself in Phoenix's beautiful brown eyes, so intense and soft. You were younger and slightly shorter than her, only a few inches but enough that you still had to look up at her when she spoke to you.

Oh this girl really had a hold on you.

“Hey, you're the one who left so quickly without saying anything- but that's not the point. Are you sure you're good ?”

“I just told you yes.” You say coldly before turning to resume your walk but Phoenix did not agree with this idea.

She took your arm to stop you from leaving and made you turn around again facing her, you sighed annoyed by the situation but you couldn't deny the butterflies that were unleashed in your stomach.

“Hey calm down UTA, I just want to chat. I was just worried lately.” She confessed softly.

“Worried ?” You asked a little surprised.

“Yes. I noticed you stopped talking, what's up ?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on UTA, don't tell me there's no reason for your silence.”

You stared at her for a moment before looking down at your feet, “It-it's nothing.” You said shyly.

“Yes it matters Y/N.” She said putting her hand on your shoulder, which made you raise your head towards her.

Once again she had said your first name and not your call sign, and once again you felt shivers run through your whole body. The way your name rolled off her tongue was so satisfying. You shook your head and quickly came back to reality, you moved her hand which was still on your shoulder before speaking again. “Oh yeah ? That's not what you were saying a few days ago.”

She frowned not understanding the situation, you laughed curtly before resuming. “I thought I was a pain in the ass and couldn't stop talking and couldn’t do my job.”

You watched her and noticed that her facial features had changed, misunderstanding replaced by realization quite quickly. “UTA-”

“You got what you wanted right ? I finally stopped talking, isn't that enough for you ?” You say, starting to get angry.

“No Y/N listen to me-”

“Listening to you ? Listen to you when from day one you hate me for no reason ? Ok I grant you that sometimes I talk a little too much and I ask too many questions but you really think that I deserved what you made me live ?” You say while releasing all the anger. It was her turn to lower her head to look at the ground, at which point you realized that around you were all the other pilots. You looked around you, everyone had just witnessed what was happening.

You were ashamed. You turned your back on the girl in front of you and continued walking as if nothing happened.

»» ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ««

A few hours after the incident you were in your dorm waiting for time to pass, you were new to the base and the dorms were already taken, so you had the right to your dorm alone. At first you found it a bit sad to be alone, but given the events of the early afternoon you were more than relieved. This evening you had decided not to go to the refectory to eat, your appetite had not come to you. You were now in bed on your back staring at the ceiling waiting for sleep to hit you but nothing.

Suddenly someone knocked on your door, you got up slowly and opened the door. Once opened, you were more than surprised to see who was in front of you, she was no longer in work clothes and had a plastic box containing food in her hands.

“Hey…” She said tenderly.

“Hi.” You say coldly.

She quickly understood that you didn't really want to see her or talk to her, but she continued, “You didn't come to eat tonight.”

Oh, so she looked for me, you thought.

She paused briefly before lifting the box in her hands slightly so your attention would be on the object, “I-I got you something. Can I ?” She asked to enter, unsure of herself.

You said nothing and went to sit on your bed leaving the door open, making her understand that she had only to enter on her own. Once in the room she closed the door gently behind her and moved slowly, she placed the box on your desk next to your bed before sitting down next to you. You waited patiently to see what she was going to do or say but nothing happened, you turned to her and spoke first since she hadn't decided to start “I don't have the whole evening-”

“I am sorry." She cut you off looking you straight in the eye. “Sorry for acting this way with you and not just the awful way I talked about you, but also the way I've been with you from the start. I know that's no excuse for what I may have done, but I-” She stopped short in the middle of her explanation.

You frowned not understanding why she suddenly stopped, you looked at her attentively before focusing on her brown eyes, her beautiful brown eyes. “Phoenix ?”

“Sorry it's just that-that... You replaced my last backseater and honestly I wasn't ready for that and I didn't want to accept it. That's no reason I know and I'm terribly sorry you didn't deserve that-”

This time if it was you who cut her off, but you did not prevent her from continuing to speak. You quickly leaned into her face to connect your lips, surprisingly she didn't push you away and deepened the kiss before placing her hand on your cheek. Inside, you were bubbling, the sensation was exquisite. Suddenly it's as if all the previous events no longer existed, there was only you, nothing else. Everything around you was gone, the only thing you could think of was the lips of the girl you loved on yours.

Your lips started moving together in a steady rhythm, her hand moved and she placed one on each of your arms before applying pressure to them, leaning back and leaning a little more to lay you down on the mattress. Your back touched the fabric of your duvet and now you were between Phoenix and your mattress. She leaned on her arms to avoid crushing you and your hands found their way into her hair, but as her lips moved from your mouth to your neck a slight gurgling of your belly was heard. She pulled away from your neck but still staying close to you, she looked at you with an amused smile on her face.

You smile a little embarrassed, she leans slightly back into your face to place a tender kiss on your cheek before she pulls away from you completely, “You should eat.” She suggested.

You sat up and nodded, she got up and took the box that was on the desk to give it to you. You took her and she sat down next to you. You looked at the box before looking back at the brunette, “How am I supposed to do without cutlery ?”

“Oh…” She said with a laugh before dropping her head on your shoulder. “Sorry-”

You cut her off by kissing her before she said any more, “You say it way too much. And honestly I don't care about the cutlery.” You say, putting the box on the ground. “I have another idea for my meal tonight.” You say kissing her hungrily.

#top gun fanfiction #top gun fic #top gun imagine #top gun maverick #top gun movie #top gun natasha #natasha trace x you #natasha trace x reader #natasha pheonix trace #natasha trace #monica barbaro

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ssspork · 7 months

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Drew like a dark, fucked up version of piranha and Molly haha. Just a glimpse into my dark reality. A full stare into my twisted perspective would make most simply go insane lmao/ref.

#this came to me like a vision from god #stormy weather splatoon #but evil #imagine how gar would react😭 he would have more dead sisters than alive #😦-gar #it’s actually a curse if ur gars sister u can’t live😞😞 pheonix better look out😞😞😞#octoling #fan art #splatoon #art #sanitized octoling #fuzzied octoling #I’ll probably draw hypnoshades minnow next #the more i look at it the more i hate it

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aaabsinthe · 1 year

Text

Valorant Male Agents Masterlist

Key

Angst: -

Fluff: =

Smut (18+): *

Breach

Brimstone

Chamber

Cypher

Gekko

Harbor

KAY/O

Omen

Phoenix

Sova

Yoru

#breach #brimstone #chamber #cypher #gekko #harbor #kay/o #omen #pheonix #sova #yoru #valorant #valorant male agents masterlist #valorant x reader #valorant imagines #valorant headcanons

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cyborg-franky · 1 year

Note

Hello Franky !

Can I have Marco or Beckman for prompt G or H, please ? Thank you!

Have a nice day/night

ooops I kinda made this sad.. I hope you don't mind angst.

Thank you <3 have a nice day or night too!

Marco x GN Reader ANGST SFW WC: 392

“I don’t know.”

Bad things happened in threes. In this case, it was Thatch, Pops and Ace. You didn’t know how to feel or think, everything had been such a whirlwind, everything happened so fast and it all hurt so much.

You still had plasters on your face, leg, and arm bandaged. Thanks to Marco you hadn’t been another tragedy. You could walk, limping a little but could still move. You woke from yet another troubled dream. Marco wasn’t in bed with you, he often kept strange hours, worse since becoming the captain against his will.

Throwing off the bedsheets you dragged your tired and heavy limbs out of bed, rubbing your head and feeling the ache that savage nightmares had left you with. You opened the door to his office, seeing him hunched over his desk, the flame of the lantern casting shadows across the room, over his tired-looking face.

He turned his head slightly when you opened the door, closing it behind you as you limped over to him. “I know you have lots of paperwork but you need to rest Marco, you haven’t fully processed everything that's happened..” You said with a sigh and reached up to trail fingers through his pineapple tuft.

Marco looked at you with tired eyes, he didn’t have his usual lazy smirk on his face. His eyes sparkled in the glow of the lantern, he’d been crying again. You reached out and gently brushed his cheek, drying the tear stains from his face.

“What do you need?” You asked him, voice soft as you felt his arms wrap around your waist, pulling you close to him, he leaned his face on your stomach, closing his eyes and gripping tighter, like he was worried you’d vanish, float away and leave him like the others.

“I don’t know yoi.” He admitted sadly and you smiled weakly, seeing him in such an unnatural state. How lost he seemed, his confidence shaking and his heart aching with such loss. You played with his hair, letting him nuzzle his face against you. His shoulders quivered and you could tell he was crying.

You let him, he needed it out and he knew you were here for him. You could feel your own tears build up, sliding down your cheeks as you bit your lip. Your heart breaking for him.

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birdy-bat-writes · 1 year

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Tu Maan Meri Jaan

Jake Seresin x Desi!Reader Headcanon + The Dagger Squad and Maverick

A/N: Hey Guys! So, @girl-in-the-chairs-void and I sort of slipped into the topic of conversation of a Jake getting married to a Desi woman and we both were so in love with the idea that we came up with this. I want to thank you, Pav, for always helping me break out of creative blocks and always being there for me in general. And ofc, I also want to thank you for working with me to create something that can desi and brown girls in this fandom can relate to. To all you, We hope you love it! Now, even I sometimes forget some of the terms that are used for Indian wedding functions so I’ll try to drop a quick explanation in parenthesis after specific terms 😊 But if I miss anything or you’re confused, just let me know in a comment and I’ll be sure to explain it.

Also, A few months ago I saw a reel on Glen’s Instagram of him at Nick and Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Diwali party so here’s that 😁

-------------------------------------------------------------

I completely melt at the thought of Jake getting married to a South Asian bride and they make the wedding half Western and half South Asian.

I feel like he’d already just love the parts of your culture that you share with him. When you go to plan your wedding, he’d already be down to do a multiple-function, multi-day wedding and his sisters and parents would be so excited.

When you first started dating, he didn’t understand the things you whisper to him in your language.

He makes it his mission to learn a little bit of your language without telling you. So, when you speak to your family or friends and it’s mostly them teasing you two, he knows but doesn’t mention it until later.

Like on the reception he just whispers “meri jaan” My life or something sweet in your ear as the Pandit (Priest) officiates it.

All the little kids calling him the various names for “uncle” and you’re feeling so proud and holding them all close to you, he looks at you so softly, getting the kids to leave the stage as they scurry off after hugging both of you.

Jake on a horse, riding his way to your house with the Baraat, and being a natural because he’s no stranger to horse riding.

Him seeing you in the wedding lehenga for the first time and just forgetting how to speak.

You are not expecting to be as speechless as you are when you see him in his wedding outfit. And he would tease the hell out of you about it.

His dirty blond hair glistening in the harsh light coming from the camera man and seeing the rest of the squad in traditional desi clothes is the cherry on top.

He had his hands in the air as the dhol and drums (a traditional drumset that plays live at weddings) echo loudly, mimicking some of the dance moves your father or brother may have taught him.

He gets down on one knee as he approaches the stage where you stand, a ring in hand, maybe saying a few sentences in your language that has you crying.

“Main aur kisi ke bare main kaise soch sakta hoon jab meri duniya mere samne hai?” Basically how can I think about someone else when my whole world is in front of me?

Also, I headcanon sometimes that Jake loves to dance and his whole family really enjoys dancing at the wedding. It usually take a glass of wine or so to get him loose but the man can dance.

They drag him onto the stage and what people don’t know is that he has been practicing his moves.

If a lot of Punjabi families are there, then we know we got the booze flowing and as soon as the songs come on, he is going at it.

You are laughing and giggling in your chair as you watch him do bhangra or any other type of dance that he has up his sleeve.

You’re just like, “Babe…. where did you learn to dance like that? When did you find the time to learn this?” “Well, I am a Seresin, Darlin’.”

The wedding vows go like this:

“The things I do for you my love, but today, I wanna dedicate this day, not to us; but to you. Because my heart has been so full of you that I simply cannot call it mine anymore. My soul has been bewitched and my mind has been taken over by every thought of you. I am a mere reflection- a shadow of you. There was a quote in this movie we watched on our third date: om shanti om (apologies for the pronunciation); you said it was your favorite movie growing up and you cried when shah rukh khan said; "Itni shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai, ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai. So today as our worlds gather around us to witness this beautiful moment, I want to say to you; mujhse shaadi karogi?”

To which you just laugh and say “We’re already married, dumbass” while tugging him up to kiss him and whisper, “A thousand times yes.”

The food, omg, okay. So, in your 5 year long relationship, you have never seen him enjoy pani-puri as much as you do at your own wedding. He happily ate them whenever you went out to eat at an Indian restaurant or made him eat Lamb Karahi (for my Pakistani girls out there), he ate it with a smile on his face, but usually, all he could feel was his mouth going numb at the spice.

But now, he is just gobbling them down. The shocking part? He’s eating them with the spicy water.

You’re shocked because he can handle more spice than you almost. And when you mention it he’s like “Baby you know I like it spicy”😉😉

Every daal or butter chicken or biryani that is brought to the table is just eaten, mostly by him.

When you taste the things yourself, the spice is there but he hasn’t picked up his glass

When you look at him, He just shrugs and says “I’m hungry.”

And you’re already reaching for water now and again.

Rooster and Javy are borderline crying.

And you keep giving them dahi (yogurt) to cut the spice because even you’re starting to

Even Phoenix can handle her spice, but Jake is surpassing that level and your mom is impressed to say the least.

Rooster watching hangman eat straight spicy biryani like 👁👄👁️

The Mehendi (a wedding function in which the bride, groom and guests’ hands and somethings feet are decorated with ethnic temporary tattoos” and Haldi rasam (a wedding function in which a yellow paste made from turmeric is applied to the bride’s and groom’s skin) has you thinking he looks absolutely adorable.

The yellow pastes make his skin glow and while everyone is admiring him all the young girls and aunties eyes are on him, he is just admiring you from the corner of the room as you get the haldi all over you.

You don't notice his eyes on you through the thin curtain until your mother whispers to you: “Everybody’s watching him, but he’s only been looking at you”

If there is haldi left after the ceremony you and Jake just attack Mav and the squad with it.

And the aunties probably have something to say about how he’s just completely all over you, but you two don’t even care. You’re already too far gone into the bliss of your wedding preparations and traditions that nothing seems to affect your mood.

He’d probably really enjoy the fact that your wedding outfits reveal the midriff if you wear a lehenga. For each function that you wear one or even a sari, he probably really likes being able to feel your skin on his when he puts his arm around your waist.

Maybe if you decide to have a destination wedding in the house you rented, he shows up late at night at your door in a beige or black kurta that your mum made him wear, a few buttons undone from the top, hair a little messy.

He was up with your male family members playing antakshari (a card game often played at celebratory occasions).

If it’s in India, he takes you to a late-night drive to eat ice cream. You introduce him to paan and chai, two common late nigh street foods.

You threaten him that if he ever calls chai, chai tea, you will divorce him.

When you get back it’s dark and late enough that no one else is awake, he quietly slips into your room as you both try to take in the last few days, barely having a moment to yourselves, as he just stays there and holds you until you drift off to sleep and when you do, he gives you a kiss on the forehead before slipping back into his room.

There’s a tradition where the brides name is written in the groom’s mehndi, and the groom’s name is written in the bride’s. When it comes to him trying to find his name in your hands, it takes him time, but he finds it hiding in the side of your pinky, because when you are nervous you hold onto each other’s pinky’s in a crowded room. It was a small thing you guys used to do before you had started dating.

If you've hidden his name as well, he finds it immediately but takes his name pretending like he didn’t see it just to play with your hands longer.

Yours is hidden in a kaleidoscope of stars and things he’s got on his palms and wrists, it’s in a moon shaped piece that has another thing written under it “mera chaand” My moon.

Phoenix shows up in the most stunning outfits and turns out she has dressed up every single one of the dagger boys.

It came as a surprise to you when she helps you with your jewelry, having known about many uncommon things about the certain things you were putting on.

She manages to take the boys away from you as you are getting ready for your main ceremony.

You both keep a Polaroid of the two of you getting ready, hair and makeup done, mehndi pristine, bangles on, jewelry pretty much all on and your outfits are on the hangers. Standing with arms around each other in tank tops and shorts and it’s the funniest sight. It's a memory you’ll cherish forever with your best friend.

Dude, can you just imagine Javy, Rooster, Mickey and Reuben all lifting the kids at the wedding in the air and pretending like they’re flying fighter jets.The kids are just like “I love Reuben uncle!” And “Jake maamaji is my favorite”.

After the wedding ceremony everyone’s making jokes about how y’all are probably going to get it on but you’re both so tired that you just fall asleep.

Before you do, Jake helps you take off your jewelry.

He counts the huge amount of bobby pins in your hair, the pile is bigger than your head. His eyes are wide by the time he is done taking out the last one.

“Do you have anything else hiding in your skull somewhere? How did your head not fall?”

“Yeah, now you know why I’m so tired, I’m carrying twice my head’s normal weight.”

You let your clothes just fall to the floor but being the neat freak that he is, he goes to pick them up and put them on the hanger. He groans at the weight of it because it is just so heavy.

“Babe, how were you walking in this? Are you a bodybuilder?”

“Damn, Jake, I thought you navy officers were strong. Can’t even carry a dress??” He glares at you playfully.

He will not stop referring to you as Mrs. Seresin for ages.

You both lay down and just take in the past few days.

He says “Goodnight Mrs. Seresin”. You both just let yourselves fall asleep in like oversized shirts and underwear because you’re too tired to find anything else.

The next day you choose to have a little Western wedding party reception.

And he didn’t know what you were going to wear so when he sees you in a white wedding dress, he loses his mind. Bonus points if it’s Jake’s Mom’s dress.

Mrs. Seresin loves you, and seeing you make her son so happy, just fulfills her life mission.

You look angelic in it.

You remember when he had teased you about how when he gets married he’d take the Garter off with his teeth like some people do and I feel like even if he didn’t, he’d tickle up your leg a little as he took it off with his hands.

He lets his hands roam around a little longer than needed, announcing that he can’t feel it until he disappears under your dress. He has is in his mouth as he reappears from under your dress, secretly giving it a sniff before tugging it into his pocket.

You get so flustered because your mother and his parents were there too.

Your father would be so mad, as most Asian dads would be in this situation.

Jake's mom might spontaneously combust; “Doesn’t this boy feel embarrassed?”

and the aunties will go feral. You don’t even care though because you’re way too in love with the man in front of you. But everyone had a good laugh over it, it was cute how in love you two are.

You cut cake and toss the bouquet.

Rooster just cuts through- like the diva he is and catches it.

Maybe giving it to your sister or a cousin of yours he’s been eyeing…

And everyone just tells stories from them about how you made naval aviators fall in love with the brown women in your family. Because it’s a common thing for a lot of matches to be made at desi weddings. They’re usually so big; friends and very extended family are invited from both sides and over the 3-7 days you all spend together, it’s not uncommon for some people to exchange numbers or so.

Like it all started there for everyone.

You and Jake take total credit for all the matches that were made.

Even phoenix, she saw your distant cousin that she got along with when your wedding ceremonies started and as she gets to know her; you stumble upon them on the rooftop on a late night, wrapped up in each other’s arms, a blanket around the two of them

Bonus points if you and Jake caught them there together and you all agree to just never mention it because you two weren’t supposed to be there either.

Imagine rooster giving the bouquet to your sister.

Like that man has been following her around the entire time the wedding ceremonies. It’s like a classic trope in a Bollywood movie.

One night, you’re looking for your earring which you’re convinced you sister took. And you walk into her room and he’s just there, minding his own business, chilling on his phone and he just jumps seeing you walk in, trying to explain.

Jake doesn’t even realize that rooster is involved with your sister until he sees them dancing. He just turns to you and is like “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” And you’re just sitting there, smirking. *I know what you are dog meme*

According to Punjabi tradition, you have to wear a red set of bangles after the wedding as a sign of being a newlywed woman.

According to tradition you need to keep it on until you have kids or like at least for a year.

It’s not even a year after your marriage that Jake comes home to find your wrists empty of the beloved bangle set he’s so used to. Oh. Oh.

He knows what it means. The empty wrists have him staring, and he’s dying to ask whether you took it off because of discomfort or if there is bigger news behind it.

After an hour of pondering, he gives up his patience and asks you.

“Oh, I was waiting until later to tell you this but…”

You drag him to the nearest seat, sitting him down as you sit opposite, burying your hands into your cardigan pocket and around the plastic stick that felt a little too heavy now that you were face to face with him. This is what you had been trying for, it's good news. The warmth in his eyes encourages you to let it be, that this was the right time.

You place the pregnancy test in front of him, he picks it up to inspect as his face lights up with joy that you had only seen the day you got married. In a flurry, he just picks you up and spins you around. You're screeching for him to put you down, but he refuses, burying his face into your stomach as you laugh.

When he does put you down, he makes you sit on the couch with him as he bends down to your stomach; “Hey there champ, you gonna give your ma trouble for the next few months huh?”

—--------------

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Tagging some friends just because :) No pressure to interact!

@roosterbruiser @callsign-fangirl @roosterforme @tongue-like-a-razor @startrekfangirl2233 @arson-tm @roostersrooster @bussyslayer333 @blue-aconite @roosterschick @roosterscock @lunamoonbby @roosters-slut

#jake seresin blurb #jake seresin #jake hangman imagine #jake hangman seresin imagine #hangman x reader #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin x you #hangman top gun #top gun fanfiction #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #natasha pheonix trace #javy machado fluff #jake seresin fluff #jake seresin x desi reader #top gun headcanons

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