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thewulf · 2 years

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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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ddejavvu · 1 year

Note

nothing is more painful than obsessing over a character and then they have almost no ff 💔

Indiana jones and Han Solo (almost no recent ff), ANY of the characters from top gun that aren’t rooster and hangman, etc etc etc the list goes on and I am sad

#mei's mail

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the-ace-with-spades · 1 year

Text

Charlie's Top Gun & Top Gun: Maverick Master List

Tags:

#Top Gun: Maverick, #Top Gun (1986), #Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw, #Jake 'Hangman' Seresin, #Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell, #Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace, #Javy 'Coyote' Machado, #Robert 'Bob' Floyd, #Mickey 'Fanboy' Garcia, #Reuben 'Payback' Fitch, #Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, #Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky, #slooserole, #Ron 'Slider' Kerner, #Carole Bradshaw, #hangster, #icemav, #bobnix, #fanback, #MavDad, #Polish Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky, #Italian Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell, #Dagger Squad, #Trans Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw, #Ace Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

Fics:

AO3:

ignition [hangster, firefighter!Bradley AU, 5+1, humour]

#ignition tag

(sometimes I feel) like a monkey pilot [trans Bradley, transition-related, icemav as dads, hangster, getting back together]

#(sometimes I feel) like a monkey pilot tag

slow down (you're doing fine) [Bradley-centric, icemav as dads, hangster, getting back together]

#slow down (you're doing fine) tag

just hold my hand [Mav's POV, the mission if hangster never broke up, mpreg and Mav/Ice as grandpas]

#just hold my hand tag

This hellsite only:

mini fics:

Family of Seven (Bradley and Jake accidentally adopt five kids) #Family of Seven tag

Angsty Baby Bradley series (Bradley POV, WIP snippets, Slider POV, IceMav POV, Adult Bradley POV) [hangster, icemav raised Bradley, Uncle Slider]

fic ideas/drabbles/prompts :

Mav is declared KIA and Ice finds out he's in his will as Bradley's guardian

Mav stays with Charlie until he becomes Bradley's guardian, Ice starts helping with raising him before they even get together

Carole and Mav get married after Goose dies and Ice and Slider pine

Ice is in denial about his feelings for Mav and Slider takes things into his own hands [fwb Slimav, pre-Icemav] Part 1 (Slider POV), Part 2 (Mav POV)

Polish!Ice and Italian!Mav headcanons

Ice and Mav wear matching clothes - Jake and Bradley mimic it years later

Post on Bradley calling Mav dad

Carole and Ice are Catholics and attend Polish Church together

4+1 'Ice checking on Bradley during the night' ficlet [icemav raising Bradley, hangster allusions]

Ice passes away in his sleep and what is left [Jake POV; ice and mav getting older, icemav as bradley's parents, icemav, hangster]

hangster starts here >>

Mav finds out Bradley who he hasn't talked to in over 10 years (and Jake) have a whole load of kids [mavdad angst, hangster, mpreg?? idea]

Jake realizing how much of Bradley's hot mannierism is inherited from Mav (and Ice)

Firefighters AU - legacy ff! Bradley, bat chief! Mav and baby ff! Jake training under new captain Bradshaw [hangster as cap/probie]

Jake and Bradley becoming flight instructors and becoming a good and bad cop in the eyes of their students [older and 'secretly' married hangster]

Bradley wants to organize a wedding (vow renewal) that Mav and Ice never had - he is terrible at it and needs help from someone who isn't - Jake [hangster, rom com vibes, getting back together]

Bradley learns to pick locks (and people's hearts) [hangster, icemav raised Bradley]

Humour fic AU idea where Bradley's papers haven't been pulled and he does land in USNA but he's doing everything and anything not to be labeled as the nepo baby [icemav as bradley's parents, hangster]

Bradley can't cut onions [hangster, mavdad]

High school AU with Bradley and Jake in secret relationship because Mav disapproves

High school AU hangster being nominated for 'most likely to get married' despite not being a couple (Part 1, Part 2)

Bradley gets Jake small thoughtful gifts (and continues to buy them after they break up)

Jake and Bradley still find their most attractive features to be the ones they had from the beginning [soft hangster headcanon about physical attraction]

Ace!Rooster is avoiding Hangman's advances

Hangster A/B/O with O! Bradley and A! Jake [mpreg & angst, set during TGM and after]

Jake didn't go to USNA AU and met struggling Bradley at college

Hospital AU with nurse!Bradley and doctor!Jake [hangster enemies to lovers, ER coworkers, surgeons icemav] #hangster hospital AU

Actor!Bradley AU where he's filming an ala TOPGUN movie with Jake as his assigned by the Navy aviator, Mav is Jake's CO [hangster, enemies to lovers, mavdad drama]

Jake's dad adores Bradley - or Bradley keeps collecting dads [icemav raised Bradley, hangster]

Hangman and Rooster as a pilot-WSO pair AU

Before Bradley takes the hit on the mission, he says goodbye ala Steve Rogers

10 Things I Hate About You hangster AU idea

Happiest Season AU, Jake takes Bradley for Christmas home

Jake being jealous of Nat (pre-canon)

#Pacific Rim AU - dossier files, idea

Actor tags:

#Glen Powell, #Miles Teller, #Monica Barbaro, #Lewis Pullman, #Tom Cruise, #Val Kilmer, #Jay Ellis, #Greg Tarzan Davis, #Danny Ramirez, #Top Gun: Maverick cast (containing more than one of the crew)

#charlie's masterlist

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sailor-aviator · 11 months

Text

I've asked this before, but now that more time has passed....

Also, which one is your favorite? How many times have you read each?

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roadtogracelandx45 · 1 year

Text

To Update/ Coming soon- June 14th- August 31st

** means smut

Admiral's Daughter- part 1, 2 and 3- Top Gun Maverick ff, Chasing Angels series. 2 Hangman/ Bianca/ Rooster, 3 Dagger Squad, 1. Bianca, Hangman, Coyote, and Phoniex.

Baby I Do,- Part 2* ,3*, 4,5- Elvis- Burnin' Love series- Elvis/ Sylvie

Little White Church- One Shot- Elvis- Stand alone- Elvis/Sylvie

Cowboy Take Me Away- Parts *2 and 3- Top Gun Maverick FF- Chasing Angels series- Hangman/Bianca

Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy*- One shot- Yellowstone- Angel of Mercy Series- Lee Dutton/ Spencer Abbott

Just Dance- Part 1, 2*,3*,4* - Top Gun Maverick FF- Chasing Angels series- Hangman/Bianca

Wouldn't It Be Nice- One shot- Supernatural- Darkest Before the Dawn Series- Dean/Ellie

Secrets That Are Meant- one shot* Supernatural- Secrets That Are Meant To Kept Series- Sam/ Dean- Wincest

To Be Kept- One Shot*- Supernatural- Secrets That Are Meant To Kept Series- Ellie/Dean/Sam

Need You To Know- One shot*- Supernatural- Secrets That Are Meant To Kept- Ellie/Dean

Be My Baby Tonight- Part 1, Part 2*, Part 3, Part 4*- Avengers, Only Fools Rush Series- Steve/ Lennon, Bucky/ Lennon

Saturday's Alright For Fighting- One Shot- Fast Saga- Life in The Fastlane Saga- Vince/Sophie

On The Outside- Parts 3, 4,5,6 The Outsiders- On The Outside- implied Soda/Mattie

Game Changers- Part 2, 3,4,5.6- The Mighty Ducks- Game Changers series- Adam Banks/ Ava Bombay

I Kissed A Girl- One Shot*- Fast Saga- Life In The Fastlane Saga- Letty/ Sophie

California Girls- One Shot*- Top Gun Maverick- Chasing Angels- Phoniex/ Bianca

Courage Under Fire- Band of Brothers- Courage Under Fire Series- Bill/Olivia, Olivia/ Joseph Liebgott, Bill/ May Jenkins Parts 1, 2, 3*,4,5

Burnin' Love- Elvis- Burnin' Love Series- Elvis/Sylvie- Parts 5,6,7,8,9,10

Chasing Angels- Top Gun Maverick- Chasing Angels Series- Rooster/ Bianca, IceMav, Hangman/ Bianca, Hangman/ Phoniex, Phoneix/ Bianca. Parts 2, 3*, 4*,5,6,7

Should Be Me- Band of Brothers- Courage Under Fire series- what if- part 2- Bill/ Olivia

Charming Town- Sons of Anarchy- Charming Town Series- Jax/Ryder- Parts 7,8, 9*,10*,11*,12

I Don't Dance But For You- Top Gun Maverick- Chasing Angels one shot- Rooster Bianca-

Only Fools Rush In- Captain America- Only Fools Rush in Series- Parts 2,3,4,5*,6*,7*,8,9,10- Bucky/Hannah. Steve/Peggy

Under False Pretenses- Band of Brothers Mafia AU- Under False Pretense series- Liebgott/ Olivia, Dick/Olivia/Nixon part 2*,3*,4*,5*,6,7,8*,9*,10*

Are You Going My Way- Band of Brothers College AU- Are You Going My Way Series- Lewis/ Olivia, Buck/Olivia, Liebgott/Oliva, Bill/Olivia etc Part 2*, Part 3, Part 4*,5,6*

Please, I Need You- Chicago PD- Thin Blue Line series- Jay Libby one shot

Got You- Chicago PD x Blue Blood crossover- Jayx Libby- parts 4*, 5*, 6, 7

Don't Stop Believing- Chicago Fire x Blue Crossover- Kelly Severide. Libby Reagan- Parts 2,3,4,5,6

Through The Heart- S.W.A.T- Luca x Josie Kay- parts 4,5,6,7,8

Star Crossed Lovers- Twilight- Star Crossed Lovers series- Rosalie/Emmett/ Lily parts 1,2,3,4,5

Hearts Made of Glass- Twilight All Human- Lily/Edward- Parts 2,3,4,5

Life In The Fastlane- Fast Saga- Vince/Sophie, Dom/Sophie, Letty/Sophie, Dom/Letty, Mia/Brian- Parts 7*,8*,9,10,11

Girl from Barstow- Fast Saga- Life In The Fastlane series- One shot-

Thin Blue Line- One Chicago/Law and Order SVU/Blue Bloods crossover- Parts 2,3,4

Winter's Gate- Game of Thrones- Winter's Gate series- Robb Stark/Jonlynn- Parts 4, 5*, 6

Homeward Bound- Game of Thrones- Winter Gate series- Robb Stark/ Jonlynn- Part 2,3, 4

Second Chances- Lord of The Rings/The Hobbbit- Second Chances series- Legolas/Ilianna/ either Fili or Kili- Part 2, 3,4

Royals- Harry Potter- Royals Series- Fred/Celeste. George- part 1,2,3,4,5

Puzzle Pieces- Triple Frontier- Miller Brothers/OFC parts 1,2,3, 4

Mine now. Sons of anarchy- Jax/Ryder one shot

Night Terrors - Winter Solider and the Falcon- Bucky/Lennon one shot

Sweet as Georgia Peach- Band of Brothers- prequel story to Courage Under Fire. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Oh My, My Love- Elvis- Two Shot- part 1, part 2

London Blue- Band of Brothers- one shot- Liebgott/ Liv- set after D-Day

London Grey- Band of Brothers- one shot- Nixon/Liv

Undercover- One Chicago- parts 2,3,4

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callsign-marlie · 2 years

Text

Prologue. Part I. Part II. Part III. Part IV. Part V. Part VI. Part VII. Part VIII. Part IX. Part X.

Table of Contents pairing: bradley "rooster" bradshaw x f!KazanskyOC, Jake "Hangman" Seresin x f!KazanskyOC Story Content Warning: Rate M for mature content (minors DNI!!!) including but not limited to: mentions of drug use/smoking, alcohol consumption, explicit sexual scenarios, angst that will make your head spin and more to add a/n: i was having more difficulty than I'd like to admit with this chapter. It's more of a transition and gives us a look at misha herself (and moose too!!!) next chapter though? hope you're ready for the real fun to begin ;3 x marlie

Part III. Reprisal

It had been at least 10 years since Misha had seen her godfather, but man, was he exactly the same as she remembered! Same stark white smile, same dark hair (albeit streaked with some grays in his sideburns), and the same faint scent of jet fuel on his shirt when she embraced him. His eyes were a bit duller and he had a few more wrinkles than she remembered, but Mav was still Mav, no matter what time had done to him.

He plopped himself on the step next to Misha, knocking the side of her thigh with his fist. "Running into two people I love in one night. Must be my lucky day!"

"Love you too, Uncle Pete," she smiled truly. "But two people? Who else did you see?"

Maverick was silent, shaking his head. "Just an old flame. It's amazing with 30 years could do."

"You're still hung up on a flame from 30 years ago?" Misha questioned incredulously. "That, shocks me to the core, Mav. No way a person could hold your emotions hostage that long. You've been freer than the wind!"

"Things change," he said, eyes drifting back into the Hard Deck. "Sometimes you don't know what you have until you have it again for the first time in a while. It's like rain after a drought."

Pete's eyes swung back to his niece, ruffling her hair. "Kinda like seeing you. I miss my godbaby, sometimes."

"Uncle Pete, I'm 32," she laughed, shooing him away. "I'm definitly not a baby anymore."

"You'll always be my baby. And you'll always be a responsibility to me."

A comfortable silence fell between the two with the salt of the sea drifting through their nostrils. This, to Misha, was peace. Her uncle, her dog, and the sea with the gust of piano whirling in their ears. Misha could see in her mind an acoustic guitar, a bonfire, mouths wide with laughter, a hand resting on her shoulder...

Had she seen this scene before?

Moose traipsed over in seeing the new guest, sniffing at Pete's knuckles. His tail cautiously wagged twice before recognizing the scent, leaving a lick on Mav's arm. The pilot ruffled the dog's soft fur, a fond smile on his lips. "Hey Moosey, look at you, boy! You're huge!"

"He just turned three," Misha grinned, watching the reunion. "Can you believe it? It feels like yesterday that he got here."

"I can't, I remember you writing an email to me about him. I hope he's been serving you well."

"I don't know what I would have done without Moose," Misha replied, watching her good boy's tongue loll to the side at Maverick's scratches on the bridge of his nose. "He's been a life saver, both literally and figuratively. He alerts people when I'm having episodes and keeps me safe when things spiral out of control. Even on days where I just can't seem to function, Moose is always there ready with some snacks and water to get me through it."

Pete's eyes narrowed at her words. "Episodes? Of what?"

"It's -- uh-- more of a response to my PTSD, I guess? Anxiety attacks, my psych told me, but with pings of memory collection sometimes. I just -- drop, like my body just doesn't want to be awake to recall it in person. All of this information goes past my head at once, but when I come out of it, I can't remember anything. It's frustrating as hell."

"Does this happen often?"

Misha shook her head no. "Last time it happened was about 7 months ago now, in my shower, shockingly enough. It's more like just experiencing deja vu now. I found the right combination of meds to prevent a lot of the memory loss and unconsciousness, but there's always a chance they won't work, which is where Moosey boy comes in."

The dog's ears pricked at the sound of his master saying his name before he collapsed back at Mav's feet to greedily receive more pets.

"I know we're going to be working together on this mission, Mav," Misha started, staring back out to the black glass of the ocean. "And I want you to know I'm going to do my best. I won't make dad regret this."

Mav's face softened at her determination. There's our girl, Ice. "No doubt you will. Speaking of him, how’s he doing? I’ve been meaning to visit since I got in, but he's been all work and no play per normal.” His hand absentmindedly scratched Moose, who was basking in the attention, turning his rear in the pilot's direction.

Misha was quiet for a beat, only offering a stiff nod at the confession. How does she word this? “He’s alright. We... we don’t talk much after… you know,” she trailed, her gaze turning to her grimy sneakers.

Pete's gaze softened at his niece. “We all hit rough spots, kid. Your dad loves you no matter what, that I can assure you.” Mav’s hand went to the side of her neck and he gave a reassuring squeeze. “He never stopped updating me about you. Good, bad and everything in between. I’m so proud of you, Meesh. Seriously. What you did was not easy to do.”

A crooked smile ended up on her lips at the praise. “Yeah, well, it would have been a lot easier if I never took the Oxys in the first place. It was either clean up or I’d be buried in some state prison by now. Or worse.” She didn’t want to imagine what else could have happened. The past was the past and deserves to stay in the past.

Misha had gone quiet for a beat, the sound of the waves crushing further in the distance. “I’m not going back to that, Uncle Pete,” Misha said firmly, her eyes locking with Maverick’s. “I’m going to be better than I ever was. I’m gonna outdo myself in every possible category, even if I can’t fly anymore because of my hearing or my injuries. These guys will be ready for anything.”

Mav’s grin could have lit the sky. He replaced his hand from Moose to her her, running an absentminded finger over a long forgotten scar on top of her hand. “You know, I wasn’t sure what your old man was up to when he told me you were going to be on board with this. But now I know: like me, you’re the butt end of a horribly overplayed joke. Only difference between you and I is that actually Ice believes in you to do the right thing. You still have time for a second chance, Misha. I’ll always be the loose cannon here!”

You’re a loose cannon, chica. I like that in a woman.

A shot of ice pierced her heart, her breath hitching for the briefest of moments. What the– what the hell was that?

“Misha?” Maverick raised a quizzical brow, concern lacing his eyes at her sudden rigor. “You alright?”

“Yeah I just– I have to go back inside, Mav, I’m sorry. Penny’s probably wondering where I am. It was good talking to you, I’ll see you at debriefing.” She stood briskly, jutting around on her toes to leave her uncle in the sand without a second glance. What in the world was that voice? It was thicker, deeper. Familiar? Has she heard it before?

That was enough coincidences for the night.

Misha had quietly returned to her spot behind the bar, slapping her towel over her shoulder, chuckling to herself in realization filling the next brew.

“What?” Penny yelled over the buzz of voices. “What’s so funny?”

Misha blindly slid the beer over to an awaiting hand. She missed the swing of the Hawaiian cotton as he spun on his heel. “I didn’t even light up, Pen. Hoo boy, it's gonna be a long night!”

—

The next morning, bright and early, Misha awoke to a black garment bag crucified on the back of her door. The material was dark and intimidating against the pure white wood grain. Groaning, she hobbled over to peak at a note tagged to the front. A new uniform for a new start. Make me proud. - Papa

She was stony faced while unzipping the fresh pressed and crisp khaki uniform, a badge with ‘Kazansky’ printed in graphite blue across the front. It held no team badge along her left breast. Her lieutenant stars on her lapels were freshly shined, her achievement badges and pins were all neatly aligned in rows. Her dad must have gotten her a new set and hand-placed all of her merits with his slow, arthritic grip. She had pondered where the strips of ribbon came from. After all, her previous set had been haphazardly thrown away in a shoebox deep within her dingy Jacksonville apartment. No way he had retrieved them - had he?

Misha shook her head. The infallible Tom Kazansky would never sink so low to dig through her mess on his hands and knees.

She mindlessly traced the top of the collar, the hard pressed curve strict on her fingertips. Her throat was tight. When was the last time she wore her khaki uniform? She couldn’t recall. With shaking fingers, she pulled it fast off of the hangar. Misha didn’t bother looking in the mirror while she stripped and threw it on at mach speed. Moose had awoken from his slumber and was staring at her quizzically, cocking his head to the side at his master’s hurried movements.

She faced the pup, opening her arms to him. “Well, how do I look, boy?”

Moose only stared, his ears perked.

“Yeah, I know, bud,” she muttered, attempting to pull her hair into a strict bun without looking. The tight pull on her scalp tugged at the corners of her skin in a familiar tingle. It took her only two attempts and a load of the four year old gel she had found under her vanity to slick it back properly. Finally, she turned to face the mirror, and gasped.

Who the hell was that?

The reflection was gaunt, pale, and had bags under her green eyes. Her face was pock marked with small scars across the tops of her cheeks and forehead. Her cheek was angled by a familiar skin graft along her right jaw that was usually hidden by her hair. A similar dark pink scar followed the bottom of her jaw to her chest and ran crooked beneath her slightly too large uniform. She looked like a scarecrow, patched together by scraps: A monster. This person in the mirror wasn’t familiar. Her stance, her clothes, her appearance, none of it. She was a stranger.

Her shaking right hand brushed over the top of the scar on her chest and shoulder. It had been so long since she'd seen the wound. She normally used baggy t-shirts and makeup to cover the remains of a forgotten past– of a time she just couldn’t remember.

Misha had known she was in an accident during her tenure in TOPGUN, but she didn’t remember the details. She recalled flying with the sun too bright in her eyes, she remembered the yelling, the heat, the fucking ringing in her ears, and then a hospital bed with tubes coming from every crevice of her body. No one seemed to ever clarify for her what had happened that fateful day no matter how much she asked. It was “classified” and the information was not to be disclosed since it involved the “destruction of government property on neutral soil”. Misha had left it at that: a gap in her memory. She had tried to move on with her miserable life, scarred and disfigured from an event she couldn’t remember.

God had tested her, and she failed his trials miserably.

Misha tore her gaze away from the mirror, chin tucked to her chest, and trampled down the stairs with leadened feet. Sarah was at her place in the kitchen with Tom sipping coffee at the dinner table reading the daily paper. Both stopped in their tracks at the sight of her.

“Honey…,” Sarah muttered out, her hand gravitating to her mouth at the sight of her oldest. She rushed around the corner to pull Misha into her chest, hot tears dropping to the skin of her daughter’s neck. Misha had let out a gasp of surprise, her hands flailing up, but eventually - unsteadily - let them drop to her side to allow her mother to hug her. Sarah pulled away, her hands cupping Misha’s chin. ”There’s my girl. This is how I remember you. My gorgeous, courageous, feisty girl. You look good in khaki, dovie.”

Misha’s chest swelled at the warmth of her mother’s gaze and her childhood nickname, returning a small, meek smile. She held her hands in her own, stroking at the wrinkles of the top of her fingers. When did she get wrinkles?

“It feels weird to wear my uniform again. I feel like it’s a bit too big for me. It’s heavy! I don’t remember it ever being heavy!” Misha laughed.

She didn’t see Tom’s grin, or the tear welling at the corner of his eye. That was his girl. There she was. She was small and timid, but seeing her like this proved that she was still alive somewhere in that corpse of a woman that stood in his kitchen. It’s heavy with the weight of your own expectations, my girl he thought to himself. Please, please don’t let it crush you.

—

The debriefing was, well, brief — Admirals Beau “Cyclone” Simpson and Solomon “Warlock” Bates were extremely concise with their explanations. Hotshot and Maverick stood at attention, the younger more strict than the other, while the plans and details were laid out plainly. The premise behind the mission wasn’t difficult to grasp: two miracle shots and one of the hardest evacuation turns that Misha had ever seen written on paper.

She didn’t need to use her statistical prowess to find a hitch.

“Sirs, there’s an extremely high possibility that not everyone will be able to accomplish that turn without failure. You know that, correct?” Misha was stern with her delivery, her eyes straight ahead. Her throat was disobeying her, that familiar tightening of anxiety dripping to her stomach. Moose, now dressed in a camouflage service vest, rested the apex of his skull under the hand at her back as a reassurance. She did not respond to his bumps against her fingers.

“Affirmative. And for some godforsaken reason, Iceman trusts you two with teaching our brightest, most talented fighters to succeed” Cyclone spat out. “Maverick I can understand because of his experience, but his own failed daughter who couldn’t even pass TOPGUN… Who didn’t even keep her wings! ” He shook his head. “In all honesty, Lieutenant Kazanksy, your track record does not impress me in the slightest. In fact, I’m so unimpressed, I actually laughed when your file was placed in my hand.”

Cyclone’s dark eyes targeted Misha. She held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t perceive her. She would have rather folded herself in two than be subject to his gaze. Maverick steadied her with just a look. Breathe. Don’t let him get to you.

Hotshot took her breath, grounding her feet to the concrete.

“I’m more worried about you than Maverick causing a ruckus on this operation, even if your feet are firmly planted on the ground.”

“I assure you Sir,” Misha began, “I did my time and learned my lesson well. I have been rehabilitated and have been living clean for three years now. I won’t make the same mistakes. I’m here to crunch numbers, not metal.”

“I heard around the academy that you were an excellent mathematician,” Warlock began, his hands resting under his chin. “Aeronautics and physics, was it?”

“It was– is, Sir.” Misha grinned. She was still too frightened to pull her vision away from behind their heads, but immediately loosened her shoulders at Warlock’s praise. “I graduated at the top of my class as a RIO in Annapolis before dual-certifying as a driver in flight school, Sir.”

“And what made you decide to dual-certify?”

“Button pushing is, well… boring. Sir.”

Maverick attempted to hide his smirk and failed miserably. Warlock gave Misha a gentle smile in defeat. “You really are Ice’s daughter, aren’t you? Even your father, as intelligent as he was, was more privy on flashy acrobatics and shooting than generating routes and button pushing.”

“Is,” Maverick retorted. “Is, Sir. Iceman is still a Fleet Admiral. He’s not dead.” Four pairs of eyes interlocked with each other as the inevitable ‘yet’ lingered in the air.

tag list: @alanadetigy @luckyladycreator2 @alldaysdreamers @blue-aconite

#top gun maverick #top gun maverick ff #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw ff #hangman fanfiction #jake seresin #bradley bradshaw #rooster top gun #rooster top gun ff #rooster x oc #hangman x oc #jake seresin x oc #bradley bradshaw x oc

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sweetwhispersofchaos · 1 year

Text

Eject Ch. 1

Chapter 1 of my first fan fiction work. Rooster x Phoenix. Rated M mainly for language, a mention of a physical altercation, and some blood. There will be some steamy stuff later on down the road so 18+ only! Story and Story Cover Photo Edit by me Chapter 1 Notes: The bird strike came out of nowhere, and Rooster isn't handling it well. He needs to see her. Make sure shes ok.

The dark room seemed suffocating. The longer he sat there, the heavier his chest felt and the harder it became to make his lungs inflate at a necessary rate. He continued to stare at the comms radio, long after the crash. Long after all the other pilots had left the room. They tried to get him to leave as well, but he was stuck.

Frozen.

Waiting for some sort of news. He knew the radio had gone black for a reason, but every fiber of his being was holding out for some sort of crackle. Static. Anything to let him know she was ok. He kept replaying the last few seconds of transmission over and over in his mind. Bob yelling about fire. Phoenix fighting her plane, trying to extinguish the fire and control it. Maverick yelling “eject”. This noise continued to ring into the dark. It was like a horrible case of Déjà vu.

Rooster met Phoenix in flight school. She was an academy graduate, just like most of the others. Less than a week into school and she had proven herself calm, rational, smart, and above all, razor sharp. She had a smirk that could stop traffic, an understated sense of humor you never saw coming, and instincts that made most of her male counterparts jealous. But not Rooster. He wasn’t jealous. He was impressed. He had never met a woman so in tune with herself, so self-assured. Phoenix was the whole package and then some. He spent the entirety of their time in school and training afterwards in complete awe of her, both as a person and as a pilot. She was firm but friendly, kind but just, and she could hang with the guys without anything being awkward. He would never forget their first day of flight training after the six weeks of classroom work had finished. Phoenix rounded the corner into the hangar in her flight suit and gear and he fell. Rooster was a lost cause for her. But there’s that unwritten, unspoken rule. Pilots don’t date. They don’t become a thing. It’s hard to stare death in the face, day after day, with the person you sleep with every night flying the 32,000-pound death trap next to you.

After two years of training, they were stationed together for a while. Then they attended Top Gun at the same time. He couldn’t get enough of her. They became good friends. Close, but not too close. He liked what they had. It was quiet but confident. He would feel from afar but never cross that line. Then, he was PCS’d. The Navy moved him to Japan and he had to leave her. Their last night before he left, they sat in silence on the deck of her apartment in China Lake, drinking beers and not saying much. He wanted to hold her, tell her what he felt. But, just like his inability to commit behind the stick of his plane, he found himself saying goodbye without telling her anything other than “I’ll be seeing ya”.

This lack of commitment was hanging heavy over his brow when the door opened, and a figure walked in. It certainly wasn’t the person he wanted to see, but if Maverick had news, he’d listen. Begrudgingly. “They’ll keep Phoenix and Bob overnight for observation. They’re gonna be okay.” Maverick says gently. Rooster wanted to jump from his perch on the arm of the couch and shout his praises to the heavens. He wanted to laugh, cry, or hit something. Someone. That was tempting at the moment with Maverick standing so close. But he just hung his head with a sigh of relief and then responded, “That’s good.” He contemplated his next words briefly, knowing it could lead the conversation somewhere he really didn’t want to go. He and Mav shared a history that was painful when it came to this particular subject. “I’ve never lost a wingman before.”

Mav replied immediately. “You’re lucky. Fly long enough, it’ll happen. There will be others.”

There it was. The thing Mav could say to set him off. This wasn’t about Phoenix and Bob now. This was about his Dad. He knew better than to start down this path, and yet he let himself slip and Mav just waltzed right into it without hesitation. “Easy for you to say. No wife. No kids. Nobody to mourn you when you burn in.” He glanced over at the aging pilot as he spoke and he froze in his tracks. Good old man. Let that sink in. You don’t get to feel flippant about the things you’ve done to me.

“Go home. Just get some sleep.” Maverick started for the door but there was no way in hell Rooster was going to let it go now. No turning back. “Why’d you pull my papers at the Academy? Why did you STAND in my way?” He shouted, too loud, at Mavericks back. Superior officer be damned. He deserved a real answer.

“You weren’t ready.”

“Ready for what? Huh? Ready to fly like you?” He advanced on Maverick in the dark. “No. Ready to forget the book. Trust your instincts. Don’t think, just do. You think up there, you’re dead Believe me.” Maverick spit as he turned to face the seething young man in the dark. His mind raced, and the words fell out of his mouth so coolly “My dad believed in you.” He could tell he hit Maverick where it hurt. “I’m not going to make the same mistake.” They stood, staring at each other. Roosters anger boiling quietly through his eyes to a dismayed Maverick. He hurt his father figure where it counted. And at that moment, he wasn’t the least bit sorry.

Before Maverick could respond, Warlock opened the door and called him away. Rooster was left standing in the dark, the heat of his anger radiating off his body. He turned to look at the lights of the tarmac outside, the lights of home. Those lights always meant he was where he felt the most at home. The closest to the dad he barely remembered. They always comforted him even on his hardest days.

After a few long, calming breaths he snapped out of his angered trance, grabbed his Bronco keys, and almost sprinted for the door. He had to get to the hospital. He had to see her.

******** The drive across base to the small hospital was quiet and he was ushered to her room after a brief wait in the lobby. It was late so not much activity in the hallways and the cracked door to her room let out no light. Shit. He didn’t want to disturb her. But the huge tugging sensation behind his navel was so strong. He needed to see her. Just to make sure she was, in fact, ok. Not just physically. He needed to know that her solid resolve was still intact. Because unbeknownst to her, he relied on her steadiness to keep his own level head. After a few moments of staring at her door, he decided a peek wouldn’t hurt. He placed his hand on the door and gently pushed, peeking his eyes around the door frame. In the dark there was a faint light from the bed. Phoenix looked up over her phone in the dark and smirked that smirk that melted him the first time he saw it. “Hey” came a raspy, struggling voice. “Hey yourself” he said, continuing to stand in the doorway. “Are you just going to stand there holding the door up or come in and talk to me?” she said, coughing and wincing as she sat up more in the bed. He pushed the door open enough to slip in and walked to a chair on the opposite side of her bed, taking a seat as she placed her phone on the little table beside her. “I guess my call sign gained all new meaning today, huh?” she smiled at him. He realized up to that point that all he had been doing was staring at her. Rooster cleared his throat, chuckled, and spoke barely above a whisper “How are you?” She quirked an eyebrow “Well I’ve had better days but I can mark slamming my plane into the side of a mountain off my bucket list.” He felt sick and did not reciprocate her humor. She must have sensed his uneasiness because her eyebrow lowered and he realized from his lower peripheral that her hand had reached out from the bed, beckoning his. Rooster looked down, staring at her hand, and eventually decided this was ok. He reached up his hands and took hers in both of his. She was clammy and his hands felt so warm on hers. She looked down at their hands then up to his face. When their eyes met, she spoke again. “I’m fine. Really.” He lowered his eyes again, watching his thumb trace lines across the back of her hand. He didn’t even register he was doing this for a very long time as they sat in companionable silence. Suddenly the panic set in. Alarms like the dash of his plane began to ring out through his mind. This isn’t ok. He shouldn’t be this close, this intimate, with her. He decided that was enough. Rooster slowly slipped his hands off of hers and stood. Just for a moment he thought her face showed disappointment as she stared at her hand, looking empty without his large warm hands on hers. “Maybe I should be going. Let you rest.” She opened her mouth to say something but stopped. Choosing a single nod of her head in agreement instead. His hands slipped into his jean pockets as he whispered, “Gimme a call if you need anything. You get out tomorrow, right?” Her blank face met his and she nodded again. “Ok well, maybe I’ll stop by your quarters tomorrow, check in on ya?” Her lips curved into a sad sort of smile. “Ok” As he walked across the room her quiet voice rang out “You bring the beer. I’ll bring the cue stick.” He smiled as he remembered the sucker punch he took to the gut at the back end of her pool stick when he first arrived in town for this mission. She didn’t know he was coming and was probably a little irritated he hadn’t called, he reckoned. He looked slightly over his shoulder and whispered back “Deal” then ghosted out of the room. ********

“Ice is dead?” Rooster couldn’t believe the words as they fell in disbelief from his mouth. He had no sooner walked through the main door of the pilot quarters on base when a distraught looking Payback met him in the hallway. He could see most of the pilots and WSO’s for their special mission were sitting around in the common room at the end of the hall, some crying, some staring at the wall in silence. That’s when the fellow pilot dropped this bomb on him. He knew the Admiral had been sick before, but had no idea something like this was coming. His mind wandered to Warlock interrupting his rift with Maverick earlier and now knew why. He almost felt bad about their forceful run in. Almost.

Rooster walked past Payback and instead of joining his cohorts in the common area at the end of the hall he turned to his right and headed up the stairs to his room. As soon as he was through the threshold of his quarters, he slammed the door shut. His back came to rest on the door and then he slid down until he was sitting on the floor, his elbows on his knees, hands running through his hair. The tears came barreling from their ducts like a missile from his jet and there was fuck all he could do to stop it. Today was a bad day. The pressure of the mission. The near loss of not only Bob but the woman he wanted to be so close to yet couldn’t. His blow up with Maverick. Then the loss of someone he had looked up to since he was young.

Iceman wasn’t particularly close to Bradley. Not like Maverick had been. But he sent birthday gifts and checked in on him with his own wife and kids occasionally. His mom even made a road trip with Bradley when he was in junior high to spend a weekend at the Kazansky home. He remembered this trip fondly because he received his first kiss from the Admirals slightly older daughter.

Iceman called to congratulate him when he commissioned and when he completed flight school. Ice told him many stories of his dad over the years and he would forever be grateful for those stories. Rooster hadn’t spoken to him in a very long time, and now he never could again. His heart felt like it was ripping from his chest. As his sobs subsided he realized that Phoenix probably didn’t know this development. He glanced over at his bedside clock. 10:35PM. Maybe she would still be awake? Rooster picked his phone up from the floor where it landed as he slid down the door and decided to text her. Hey. You awake? He stared at the illuminated screen as the three little dots appeared at the bottom. Well, I am now dickhead.

He choked on his chuckle and contemplated his next message. Have you heard? The dots appeared again quickly followed by one word: Yes. He sighed and raised his head to look at the ceiling, watching the fan make slow circles. What he wouldn’t give to be drawing those slow circles on her hand again right about now. His phone buzzed again, and he looked down to see another message from Phoenix. I’m sorry. I know he was important to you. Yes. Yes, he was. And so was Maverick. And so was his dad. And so was she.

And yet it was all so fucked up. He wanted to say something but decided he couldn’t trust himself in this moment. He kicked his shoes off, pulled his shirt over his head, crawled across the floor to his bed, and his eyes slammed shut as soon as his head hit the pillow. He needed the world to shut up for a little while. And it did.

The next morning came way too soon. A knock at Roosters door jolted him from his deep, dark slumber. He rolled over in his bed and practically fell out, shielding his eyes from the sunlight beaming through his blinds. He felt hungover. No. He felt downright drunk. Grief does strange things to the human body, even worse sometimes than the G’s he pulled in his plane.

There was another knock at the door and he checked the clock on the bedside table. 7:15AM

His flight wasn’t supposed to be until later so who the hell was waking him this fucking early?

When another, more insistent knock came, he hollered “Just a damn minute” and headed to the door, still in nothing but his jeans from the night before. As he swung the door open and let out an exasperated huff, the smirk on the other side of the door brought him up short and sobered him up quick. Through his fog he saw her standing there in her PT shorts and a Naval academy t-shirt, hair pulled back in a loose, low ponytail, and flip flops on her feet. In the daylight he could see a few bruises on her face, neck, and legs and a tiny cut above her left eyebrow. He must have been staring for too long because her eyebrow quired and the smirk turned to a small smile.

“Morning sunshine. You should try answering your phone.” She sauntered past him into the room and stopped to look around. At that moment he wondered what sort of dirty laundry he had lying about but chose to ignore the embarrassing thought.

As he shut the door and turned to face her, he said lazily “Sure, come on in. You DO know what time it is, right?” Then he walked over to where his phone lay on his bed and glanced at the three missed calls from Phoenix and one from Payback.

“It’s 7:15 in the morning, you’re already out?” he asked, not looking up from his bed.

He felt her eyes on him but chose to continue looking absently at his phone. He had suddenly realized there was a tingle between his legs and the familiar waning of a morning woody. He needed to concentrate on anything but her eyes on his shirtless body at that very moment. She replied, still smirking. “Good behavior. So, how are you? I’m sorry about Admiral Kazansky.” He looked up at her with a sorrowful look and muttered “Thanks.” Before looking at the window across from him.

Phoenix moved, rather slowly and with effort, to sit in a small arm chair on the wall opposite Roosters bed. Realization that she must be very sore reached his core and he took two steps across his room to help her. Placing his right arm around her shoulders he reached his left hand across and placed it on her waist to steady her. She stopped and swayed and his grip at her waist tightened. She glanced down at his hand then up at his chocolate eyes.

Rooster was lost momentarily in her face, drowning in her beautiful eyes, and that sinful smirk. Then he realized this was the closest they had ever been physically and he became flustered.

“Uh, sorry. You seemed a little unsteady.”

“Being fired out of your plane and the massive jolt of the harness digging into your body as your chute explodes open then landing on the side of a mountain will do that to you.” She smiled a half hearted smile and began to walk. He held her all the way to the chair and she sat unceremoniously with a little bit of a grunt.

“Sounds like fun.”

“I don’t recommend it.”

Her eyes were on him again. He turned and walked to the small en suite bathroom, realizing his breath must reek. He prepped the toothbrush and placed it in his mouth then walked back to the door way of the bathroom. She had her head resting against the back of the chair, her eyes closed, her breathing slightly labored. She seemed so peaceful. That fiery woman kept at bay by the pain, and most likely pain meds. She must have sensed him watching her, because one eye slowly opened to look back at him.

“Funeral is tomorrow. 3PM at Miramar National. We have to be in blues downstairs at 1:30 to catch a van to the cemetery.” She opened both eyes now and watched him carefully.

Rooster continued to brush his teeth while leaning on the bathroom door frame. He merely nodded his head in recognition then returned to the sink to rinse and spit. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind and he returned to the door. “It’s early morning, you just got out of the hospital, how do you know all of this!?”

She chuckled lightly and gave him a smug look “You never downloaded the Group Me app did you?”

Confusion crossing his face, he picked up his phone off the bed again, unlocked it, and opened the Group Me app. There it was, a notice from Cyclone almost word for word of what Phoenix had just said. He crossed to her perch, turned the phone to face her, and made a smug face at her.

“I’m so proud of you.”

“Yeah, I’m proud of me too”. He returned the phone to the bed, turned to face her and asked “So, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I’m hiding. I didn’t want everyone knocking on my door and bothering me today. I’m off flight status until after the funeral tomorrow evening. Taking first hop out next morning. Figured this would be the right place to hide.” She smiled an almost wicked smile and his heart faltered.

He thought over her words for a moment then offered up his bed so she could lie down instead. She agreed and he stood to help her again.

“I can walk the 4 feet to your bed ya know?”

He put his hands up in feigned defense and chortled “Pardon me ma’m”. She shot him a dirty look as she carefully lowered herself onto his bed, bringing her head to rest on his pillow. There it was again, His heart faltered.

Before his mind could get too carried away he turned to the small set of drawers behind him next to the chair and pulled out a dark navy blue tshirt. Once over his head and resting snuggly on his body he moved to the side of the bed and knelt in front of her where she lay on her side.

“You hungry?”

“I could eat. I could use some coffee too.”

“I supposed I could handle that. Eggs, bacon, and some fruit? Coffee black?”

She smiled up at him. This time the smile was less a smirk and seemed more, sweet.

“Look at you being all chivalrous.” She brought her hand up to brush some of his hair off of his forehead. “Yes, that sounds perfect. Thank you.”

He wasn’t sure what came over him, but he reached up meeting his hand to hears, pulled it in, and kissed the back of her hand very lightly. His mustache tickled the back of her hand, and her eyes met him, wide. All of a sudden, he felt like a fish in a very small bowl. Why did he do that? Was she ok with it? It felt right but he didn’t know if it was a kosher thing to do. His heart was pounding, and she was just staring at him. He dropped her hand, stumbled to his feet, and mumbled as him slid his tennis shoes on “I’ll be back, get some rest.” And then he was gone, without looking back to see the warmed expression on Phoenix blushing face.

*******

Rooster was gone way longer than he intended to be. After making the quick jog across the street to their designated dining facility he ran into half the squadron. All of them wanted to stop and offer condolences. He made for the start of the line, grabbing a to-go container, but Payback, Fanboy, and Coyote followed him. They were asking if he had seen Phoenix and Bob yet? Did he see the funeral information? Why was he taking his food to go?

He tried to be as vague, and as quick as possible. The conversation lasted at least 10 minutes, maybe more. Finally, Hangman walked in and Rooster was NOT in the mood for his shit this morning. When Hangman called out to Coyote as he sat at the table with the others, Rooster saw his out. He turned quickly and moved down the line to where hot food waited. He loaded the container with enough food for both Phoenix and him then moved to the coffee stand on the opposite side of the food line. He filled two large cups with coffee then, placing them on top of the to-go box, turned and bid them farewell. He practically sprinted out the door, leaving the rest of the pilots and WSO’s looking after him with confusion and some concern.

When Rooster reached the landing at the top of the dwelling stairs, he realized his hands were full and he couldn’t reach his keys in his back pocket. Then he realized he was being watched. From across the hall Bob had appeared out of his room and was walking towards the pilot.

“Need some help?”

Rooster hesitated. “Ahhh yeah. Do you mind holding this so I can get my keys.”

Bob slowly reached out and took the coffees from the top of the box. Rooster was trying to stay cool, hoping Bob wouldn’t ask why he had two coffee cups. He reached into his pocket with his right hand while his left still held the box of hot food. Then he unlocked the door, opened it with the same hand, and attempted to slip inside without opening the door too wide. He didn’t need her WSO seeing this. What would he think? Would he tell?

Rooster sat the box of food down on a small table he kept his keys on next to his door then reached very carefully with one arm through the barely opened door to get first one cup, then the other, from Bob.

He hadn’t noticed the grin on Bob’s face through all of this hurried interaction. When the last cup was handed off, he looked up to say thanks but Bob beat him to the punch.

“I know she’s in there.”

Rooster was brought up short. He flashed his eyes to the sleeping figure in his bed then back to Bob, stunned but unsure what to say.

“We talk. It’s cool. I’m glad she’s getting some rest.” Then he turned to head back across the hall his room, moving gingerly much like Phoenix had moved earlier in his room.

“Hey man. I’m glad you’re ok. Thanks for the help.”

Bob didn’t turn but merely held a hand up in response before disappearing into his room and closing the door.

FUCK.

Bob has never seemed like the gossiping type but this scared the shit out of Rooster. He was already on edge just by having her here. Now the man across the hall, her back seater, also knew. Did anyone else know? Maybe someone saw her come in this morning? Did she tell anyone else?

The most important question suddenly flashing through his head like a bright set of headlights coming straight for him: Does she care that anyone else knows shes in here?

Realizing he still had a cup of coffee in his hand and the door ajar, he nudged it close with his elbow and turned to place the coffee on a TV tray next to the chair Phoenix had occupied earlier. He moved next to the bed to check on her. She was breathing deeply and steadily. Good. She didn’t hear the interaction at the door. He turned to grab the food box and sit. The next half hour he mindlessly chewed on food and drank his coffee while watching her sleep peacefully. This was nice, he thought.

*******

Rooster was reading over one of the mission handouts he had tossed next to the chair when he heard a rustle from his bed. She had been asleep for just shy of two hours. He glanced up without moving and his eyes were met with her groggy gaze.

“Where’s my food?” She asked through a haze.

“Right here” he said as he nodded his head to the side towards the box on the TV tray, never taking his eyes off of her. “But it might be a little cold now.”

“How long have I been out?” She started to push herself up to a sitting position on the bed, but visibly winced with pain while doing so.

Rooster rose and grabbed the plate of food “Couple of hours. I got your coffee too. But, its probably cold too.”

“I don’t care. I just need sustenance. Gotta have something with my meds. Hey, can you grab them. There’s a little bottle in my duffle.”

She had dropped a small bag on the floor when she first entered his room. He hadn’t thought much about it and now it seemed like he was going to be trespassing into forbidden territory. He moved to the end of the bed where the bag was and bent down to unzip it. Her rolled up flight uniform was crammed in there and on top of it was a small medication bottle. He pulled it out, walked back to the side of the bed and handed it to her.

“Need some water?”

“Sure.” She said as she dug into her eggs and bacon.

He grabbed a bottle of water from a package under the bed and handed it to her. Then he sat back on the floor next to the bed and watched her eat. She finally broke the silence after a few bites of food, swigs of coffee, and tossing back her tiny white pill.

“It’s going to suck tomorrow. I can’t take any more pain meds after today so I can be flight ready. Funeral. Pain. Fun.”

He nodded his head but didn’t say anything. He was too mesmerized by the way she bit tenderly into the side of the plum he had brought her. His mind began to wander, wising his mouth was on the other end of that tender bite. He watched her mouth chew slowly before swallowing, in turn causing him to swallow the lump that had grown in his throat. Who knew a piece of fruit could be so enticing?

She ate her fill then closed the box, taking another swig of her coffee then setting both on the bedside table. She stretched her arms carefully, first to the side, then over her head. She winced when her arms reached their highest level and he sat up to one knee quicky, asking “You ok?”

Arms still over head she turned her head slightly and cocked her eyebrow “Nothing that’ll last long. But thanks for asking.” Then she brought both arms down, her right coming to rest in her lap, the left brushing lightly across his check and coming to rest on his jaw. The tension between them seemed to send electric currants through every fiber of his body, from the spot where her hand rest to the tip of his toes. They sat in this position for what seemed like an eternity, just staring at each other. Her face went from sweet to sad in an instant.

Then her hand was gone.

She was moving to stand on the other side of the bed. He stood too but didn’t move. Just watched her. She walked to the end of the bed and started to bend down to get her bag. About halfway into said squat though, she started to lose her balance. As she her wobbling became more intense, she reached a hand out to the end of the bed to steady herself. Instead, a large, strong hand grabbed hers while another muscular arm reached under her other arm and came to rest around her waist, lifting her back up.

Suddenly they were face to face. Mere inches apart, his arm pulling her close to him. Time simply stopped. Their eyes searched the others and his arm tightened around her waist. They just stood there, holding on and watching the other for a reaction. His mind was screaming at him to stop, this wasn’t right. He may have wanted her bad but there was no way it could work and this wasn’t ok. This was going too far. Before he could find any words to say, her lips came to rest on his cheek, then pulled away. “Thank you, for taking good care of me.”

Rooster said nothing. His mind was too busy gasping for air. He just knew she could hear his heart pounding out of his chest. While still holding his other hand, she stepped back to free herself from the arm around her waist, bent over to get her bag, then stood to face him again. She squeezed his hand, turned around, and slowly exited without a look back or another word.

He just stood there, mouth slack, completely shocked at the morning he just had. He needed to go back to bed. Or take a cold shower. Or both. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read Ch. 2 Here

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#bradley 'rooster' bradshaw #natasha trace #pheonix #rooster x phoenix #bradley bradshaw #top gun maverick #top gun maverick ff #phoenix x rooster #friends to lovers #rooster/Phoenix #Phoenix/rooster #natasha phoenix trace #top gun rooster #top gun fanfiction #top gun fluff #top gun phoenix #bob floyd #wingman

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beezelarts · 2 years

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Thank you, ricciardosdaniel (they wrote "imagine being loved by me") for introducing me to Greta Van Fleet. It's my new favorite band I loveal of their songs which is rare.

I really recommend checking them out!

Also, I couldn't find ricciardosdaniel on tumblr so if anyone knows their username (if they're even on this platform) please tag them so that I can express my DEEPEST gratitude <3

#hangster #rooster x hangman #top gun maverick #ao3 #top gun ff #greta van fleet

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futurecorps3 · 2 years

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𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 (𝘉.𝘉)

Masterlist <3

Summary: Y/N Mitchell lives near the base where his father, “Maverick” Mitchell, is training the squad. Unbeknownst to her, she stumbles upon a family’s old friend. Pairing: “Rooster”!Bradshaw x Mitchell!femreader Warnings: Age gap (Rooster is 32 and reader is 25. Yes, I changed his age because my boy is 38 and I love me some dilf but like- no), implications of sex. Lmk if I need to add one! A/N: HERE YOU GO. THIS IS MY CONTRIBUTION FROM ME TO YOU (US) AS A SOCIETY. (I need some smut for hangman tho...)

The bar is hundreds of conversations told in loud voices, all of them competing with the rock and roll music that dominates the atmosphere. The crowd is young, men and women from the top gun detachment's location, particularly. Dad winds his way through the warm bodies to order a drink, placing his phone on the bar. “Hey” I greet, smiling softly in realization, nodding his way “Hey sweetheart,” he answers, subtly scanning the room as I order him a beer. “She’s in the back. Shouldn’t be long until sh-”

“Pete?” there she was.

I had told Penny about his arrival as soon as he let me know, but this was the first time they were meeting. I didn’t feel like interrupting, so I winked in my dad’s way and got up, walking to the back of the bar to the storage section to take one of those fancy beers Penny had ordered but wasn’t serving yet. Those two, not realizing they are in love, is one of my favorite concepts; dad looks at her and his eyes sparkle, so does hers. It’s just a matter of time. Both me and Amelia knew perfectly and had loads of fun betting on what their next move was going to be.

She was a great person who had helped his daughter when she arrived in town a month ago, helping her get familiarized with the people, being someone to talk to in case she felt lonely and having her over for dinner every night; dad had no reasons to reject her.

Suddenly, hard, harmonic steps could be heard approaching and most people on the bar turned their heads to the noise. I could see five men and one woman dressed in uniforms of the United States Navy stepping inside when I peeked my head from the storage door, joking around with each other as they neared the pool table next to the back door of the building. I walked out of the storage room directing myself back to the bar stools, beer opened in hand. Then I heard the bell ringing.

The crowd cheered and thanked my father as if he had just performed some kind of magic trick. The look of confusion on his face was priceless, and I couldn’t help but giggle as I sat beside him once again. “Forgot to tell me there are rules,” he said, sounding somewhat offended but still smiling as he took a sip of his drink. “There’s a sign right there!” I responded, motioning with my hand opened to the small beige square placed in front of us, making him giggle.

We spent minutes chatting, enjoying each other's company and giggling at some drunks’ stupidity. Spending time with dad had seemed like something I hadn’t done in a long time, even though we hung out at home weeks before. We had a great relationship, but I needed independence at some point and moved here. Then he got assigned to teach the team. I teased him non-stop for days, telling him he just couldn’t stay away from his little girl. He knew part of me was right and never did he deny the allegations.

“Give us another round, please,” one pilot said. He had brown, short hair and the most charming smile I had ever seen. His eyes trailed up and down my body, winked once, and told Penny to give me another beer. “Put it all on grandpa’s tap, including what that doll over there orders”. I wasn’t sure if I felt flattered by the compliments or annoyed by that cocky bastard calling dad “grandpa”. I just laughed it off and smiled politely as he turned back to his friends.

“I better get going before this place packs up,” dad sighed, turning up to me. “You coming?” “Nah, I’ll stay here. Wanna take breakfast tomorrow?” “Sure, I’ll pick you up at your place at 7″ He grabbed his jacket and started walking towards the exit. “You’re insane!” I groaned, dropping my face and arms to the wood below them. “My teacher's duty starts tomorrow at 9. I can’t be late, sweetie. Love you,” he said before going. “Love you!” I called out, hoping he’d listen.

“Breakfast at 7 with your old man? You must really love him,” Penny giggled. “Wouldn’t you know?” I smiled, lightly rolling my eyes. “Need help?” “Yeah, actually. Could you bring the Anspach & Hobday boxes from the back? Let me know if they’re too heavy and I’ll ask one of the boys” “Sure” I smiled, tapping my fingers on the surface before standing up.

Making my way into the mass whispering little “excuse me”s and “coming through”s, I opened the door and looked through the labels of the packages. There were two boxes of what Penny asked for laying on the floor, and as I tried to pick them up, I could only move them a few inches without even picking them up; I’d say I dragged them more than anything. I looked around the room for a small loading car, inside cabinets and closets, but found nothing.

I tried once again.

I failed.

As I was about to give up and walk away, the gate to the storage was opened and a tall, blonde stranger stood leaning in the door frame. “Need help?” god, was he hot. His voice sounded a bit grayer than what he appeared to be, green eyes staring at the back of my torso. His body was very well worked and was wearing a Hawaiian red shirt with leaves all over it, biceps framed by the fresh fabric over them. He certainly could carry the packets over to Penny. “Ahh... y-yes, please” He smiled, simply walked over to the cartons and carried them like it was nothing..

It even made me wonder if I was made of some other fragile material that didn’t allow me to carry heavy items around. I walked behind him, seeing how the muscles on his back flexed at the effort he was putting them through. I opened the small door that led to behind the bar for him and waited until he placed them on the floor.

“Thank you...” I extended, trying to get his name “Bradley, or Rooster. You can call me anything you want, sweetness,” he smirked, hands on his hips after we walked back to the big part of the bar. "Thank you Rooster. I-I’m Y/N, by the way,” I said, extending my palm for a handshake. His grip was quite impressive, and we took a bit longer to pull away. “Pretty name like yourself” he winked, and at that point I couldn't've cared less if it was the so called ‘navy charm’ or actual chemistry I could sense between us.

“Can I buy you a drink, Y/N?”

How could you say no to that strikingly gorgeous face? A handsome man's beauty starts from his hearty loving soul and radiates from there to create his final form. There he was. “I’ll take a scotch, Rooster” I smirked, finishing up my beer and leaving it on the counter to follow him to a nearby table for two.

His confidence is an aphrodisiac for sure, for with his eyes and voice, he is in command of himself. Yet it is what he’d do with that strength that could draw me in. It is that there is chivalry in him, that a desire to champion those who need raising up is within you. That's all him.

And so it started.

We talked and talked for hours until the bar closed. He told me between jokes and little flirty approaches, all about how he got his nickname, his career, about how he almost got in a fight before coming to my rescue on the storage with some ass called “Hangman” and a story of when some prick delayed his paper’s entry.

And I told him all about my story too, my relationship with dad, about my job and when I mentioned that I had just moved into town, he offered to take me on a tour of the small things he knew so far. Time seemed to fly and before we knew it, Penny was asking us both to leave, since it was closing time.

“Shit, it’s so late” I laughed quietly, taking a glance at my phone as we both stood outside the bar, dim lights of the street letting us see the dark pebbled road in front of us “I know... but night’s still young, right?” he smiled at me looking stupidly hopeful. I had my experience and if that wasn’t the face of a man who was looking for a hookup with a pretty girl (as myself, of course) I didn’t know shit then.

“And by that, you mean your place or my place?” I giggled, seeing his confident demeanor falter for a second with the faint blush adorning his cheeks that he then covered with a small smirk. “Well... yeah,” he admitted, scratching his nape. “My place. Do you know how to drive?” I finally said, tossing him the keys to my motorcycle and walking towards it “Yeah, let’s go” he laughed contently, following right after me.

The moment he set foot in my apartment, he left no time between closing the door and starting making out with me. His hands were on fire and he proved once more he was indeed very strong when he carried me up to my bedroom. He was rough, fast enough, too. His sex drive, under that American hotrod hood, has the kind of power that roars with the lightest of touch. Yet his ability to stop on a dime is without rival. Power and control with a touch of silk. Whatever is a woman to do about that?

The whole time was filled with smiling and giggling, but growled in my ear seconds after. I couldn’t believe he was the same dork making me beam like crazy at the bar with his dumb puns. Everything was perfect. Especially when he asked if he could spend the night since it was very late and had to wake up early.

And I let him.

Throughout the night, I could feel his arms wrapped around my waist, his soft scent feeling my nostrils when I subconsciously snuggled closer to his naked chest. I swore I could stay there forever, just for the comfort of it. I was used to one-night stands, and this had all the checkpoints of being one, because not one person has had sex on their first meetup/date other than it being a one-night stand.

But I was comfortable. And selfishly, I hoped he woke up late, and we had no other remedy but to cook breakfast together and talk a bit more. Because, and that might’ve been the alcohol talking, I really liked to listen to him. There was a spark between us from the first moment. We connected. And it felt nice. Really nice.

We were woken up by a loud car horn.

Dad.

“Holy fuck” I said, opening my eyes in a heartbeat and sneaking out of Rooster’s grip even faster, startling the living shit out of him in the process. How could I be so stupid? I forgot the breakfast I had arranged with my dad. “What?” he groaned, burying his face deeper in the pillows. “I forgot my dad was coming to pick me up. We’re going to eat breakfast together,” I said, throwing a shirt on. Now his eyes were completely wide open.

“Oh, shit” he mumbled first as if the realization of the situation we were in was taking a little to hit him as he looked for his pants around the room. “Oh shit!” he exclaimed, panicking completely at last. “Y/N!? Sweetheart, are you there!?” a voice was heard from outside. I opened the window and peaked my head outside. “Coming!” I smiled and waved and I wondered how a man could look that pulled together at seven a.m in the morning. Only Maverick could.

“Back door. Now” I ordered, and he nodded, grabbing a few things he had discarded the night before on the way to the door. I directed him swiftly, heart thumping as if I wasn’t a completely functional adult. “L-listen Y/N I-I really don’t want to end things here. I feel like we kind of clicked, and I’d really really want to take you on a formal date if you’d be okay with it, of course, and if you don’t then it’s okay, you know? I’d get it, you’re a very bus-” he ranted on our way to the exit and a bit after he was practically outside already.

“I’d love to, Bradley” I smiled, looking into his eyes and feeling relaxed he felt the same way about our little connection “But I really need you to get the fuck out like, right now” I giggled, he smiled back and delivered a sweet kiss to my cheek “I’ll ask Penny for your number. And I’ll wait until you and your old man are off to make my scape. See you soon, gorgeous.” he winked, closing the door for me.

I sighed like a teenager and hurried outside to meet dad. God knows I fell for Bradley Bradshaw that day.

What Y/N didn’t know, though, was that Rooster was a curious one by nature, and couldn’t help but peek to see how the father of what he thought was the girl of his dreams looked like. He found none other but Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

And boy did that change shit up.

.⋆｡⋆☂˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆.

Taglist: @levylovegood @homestuck-good @mercury-mae @ben-hothauser @taylor-will-be-the-death-of-me @nattygee @desperate-and-broken @outspokenmatters @thatwh-0-re @silknostalgic @birdy-bat-writes @slut-4-fiction @flower-child2021 @evans-dejong @teenvulcangirl

I love you all so much, thank your for the enthusiasm on this one. I hope I did it justice!!!<3 Hangman one coming soon.

#rooster x reader #bradley bradshaw #top gun #top gun maverick #rooster bradshaw #top gun x reader #bradley bradhsaw x reader #maverick #top gun ii #top gun fanfiction #top gun ff #top gun fanfic #tom cruise #tom curise top gun #that was fun

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